


Spaces Between Stars

by rabid_behemoth



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Angst and Humor, Coming of Age, F/M, Fourth Wall, Multi, Non-polyamory, Non-triangle, Romance, Weird Plot Shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2017-12-23 02:51:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 48,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/921134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rabid_behemoth/pseuds/rabid_behemoth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a perfect postwar Konoha, Sakura's life is...still missing something. Attempting to discover her destiny, she makes a wish on a shooting star — but it falls on her head instead. When she wakes, the world is a little different than she remembers...[ItaSaku, KakaSaku. Non-triangle, AU swapfic]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wake-up Call

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all and welcome! This is set one year post shinobi fourth world war. Please note there will be some SasuSaku this chap due to the need to set up conflict, but this is not a SasuSaku fic. It is both an ItaSaku and a KakaSaku, but — and this is very important — it is NOT A TRIANGLE. As in, the two ships will not be in competition with each other (so if you only like one or the other, fear not, your otp is not in jeopardy!), nor will there be polyamory (not this time anyway). I know that sounds bizarre but I promise it will make sense! You trust me, right? (hahahahaha~why would you do that?)
> 
> Super special awesome thanks to my inhumanly patient beta SomebodyLost (marry me please?). This fic is dedicated to all my tumblr peeps (you know who you are, KS-taggers!) because you continue to inspire me to write with your amazingness.

"A toast to the Hokage!"

A chorus of groans mingled with the cheers.

"Ugh, if I have one more someone is gonna have to carry me home."

"How troublesome..."

"Don't be such a lightweight, we're barely getting started here!"

A dark eye peeked out from beneath a shock of white hair. "Don't you think you've had enough,  _Hokage-sama?"_

A very red-faced Naruto threw his head back and laughed, casually spilling his drink down his front. "When you say it, Kaka-sensei, it always sounds like you're being sarcastic."

"Can't imagine why that would be," the older jounin droned, lips twitching beneath his mask. Naruto, of course, was three sheets to the wind too many to take offense. He laughed again and managed to get some of the next sip into his mouth. Kinda.

Sai, conversely, was still sober enough to point out the inaccuracy. "He isn't Hokage yet. The first meteor shower of spring is due tomorrow night, so it'll be about another month before the equinox. Until the ceremony, our future Rokudaime is still just regular old Dickle-"

" _Sakura-chaaaaan!"_ the blonde interrupted, spotting a familiar head of pink hair through the sea of bodies. He jumped up and down, waving enthusiastically. "Come over, take another shot with us!"

Sakura glimpsed her exuberant best friend across the room. He was positively glowing, and it wasn't just from the booze. The blue in his wide eyes had never looked so bright, the relaxed smile on his strong jaw (when had he grown up enough to get one of  _those_?) was infectious. She felt her chest swell with pride for him; after so many years of hardship topped off by a grueling world war, Naruto was finally on the cusp of having all his hard-earned dreams come true. She couldn't be happier for him. A lopsided grin on her face, Sakura clutched her newly-refilled cup in one hand and began weaving her way through the crowd towards him. She paused a few steps into her journey, glancing over her shoulder at the empty space where her companion should've been.

"Aren't you coming, Sasuke-kun?"

Konoha's most recently (re)acquired citizen fixed her with a steady look. Behind the mature face was the same boy she'd known and loved since childhood, finally recognizably human again (not to mention devastatingly handsome). His black eyes flickered to the blonde in the corner, who had proceeded to snatch a squealing Hinata out of the masses and was squeezing her around the middle with gusto, oblivious to the girl's hyperventilation at the sudden attention. The corner of his perfect lips quirked.

"Of course," he said, scooping more punch into his glass with an easy flick of his wrist. He set the ladle back down next to the sushi platter and trailed after Sakura.

"N-n-naruto," Hinata protested, trying to pry her fiancee's hands off while he covered her tomato-red face with sloppy kisses. "Please, later —"

"Aww, c'mon, Hinata-chan, you look so cute in that dress I can't resist!"

"Hey Dickless, are we doing this or not?" Sai cut off the embarrassing public display, passing out shot glasses to anyone within reach (Hinata accepted hers with untold gratitude). And indeed there were a  _lot_ of people within reach; the rebuilt Uchiha compound was so packed that intoxicated party guests were spilling out into the yards and gardens, crammed into narrow gaps between houses. Some had even found their way out onto the lantern-strung rooftops. It seemed the entire village had turned out to celebrate their favorite war hero's completion of Kage training. Sai ran out of shot glasses before he could blink.

"To the Rokudaime-to-be!" someone shouted.

"Kanpai!" the crowd returned, glasses tipping back as one. Sakura's throat burned as the clear liquid of drink number ? slid down (she'd lost count some time after Kiba had poured whatever-the-hell-that-was into the punch bowl). She wiped her mouth with her arm and shot Naruto another grin. She took a wobbling step forward, only to have a warm palm catch her elbow.

"Mixing high heels and alcohol seems kind of dangerous," Sasuke mused, steadying her. Sakura felt the tips of her ears tinge pink, heat fanning out where his fingers contacted her skin. He released her arm quickly.

"Th-thank you, Sasuke-kun," she stammered through the pounding of blood in her ears. She was normally better behaved than this, but it seemed like the sake in her system had seized control of her eyeballs and surgically attached them to the collar of Sasuke's yukata, where a sliver of pale chest was peeking out. Even worse, it hijacked her thoughts away from goodwill towards Naruto and dragged them kicking and screaming to the one place in her head they didn't belong.

The look in her eyes must have been apparent, because her former teammate shifted, gazing past her. "Sakura, please."

Her body reacted to his voice, heart speeding up involuntarily. "P-please what?"

"Don't."

Shame crashed around her ears. This was Naruto's night, and here was she was ruining his best friend's time with the awkward baggage she had no one but herself to blame for. She shook her head and plastered on a blinding grin, throat releasing a hoarse laugh.

"Ahaha, it's nothing! I'm fine. I just drank too much, sorry. Thank you for... escorting me."  _Even though it was a bad idea._

Sasuke swallowed. "You know it's not a —"

"I know," she interrupted, barreling past the twinge in her chest. "It's fine. Everything's great. I'm just glad to have you back, Sasuke-kun."

The look on his face made her spit out a hurried correction. "I-I mean, it's good you're finally back. With us. Sorry, it's the sake talking.  _Words_  and all, hahaha," she babbled, looking anywhere but at him. His shrewd gaze pierced her like a kunai between the eyes.

"I've been back in the village for a year, Sakura. Since the war ended."

"I know. But I'm still getting used to it. To being...happy. You don't know —" She grabbed another cup off a passing tray and gulped in down in one swallow. "You don't know what it was like. When you were... gone."

And now she'd said too much. The look on his face was something almost like pity, and Sakura wished she was drunk enough to black out already and be done with it, unable to remember any of this come morning. But she had no such luck; her consciousness lingered like an Akimichi at the buffet line. Sasuke sighed and tucked his hands into his sleeves, glancing towards the door idly.

"Come on, I'll walk you home."

Lacking both will and reason to argue, Sakura said her goodbyes to Naruto, who had somehow wound up with a lampshade on his head (the sly smirk on Konohamaru's face was decidedly suspicious) and was singing an ode to ramen for a surprisingly responsive audience. She stumbled out the door after Sasuke, grateful to escape the suddenly suffocating house.

They weaved their way through the revelers in the yard, dodging all manner of outstretched hands and offers of 'just one more!' Sakura noticed the blonde missile that was Ino launching herself towards them and grabbed Sasuke's hand reflexively. When he pulled it from her grip she flinched as though slapped.

"Sorry. Ino is incoming, we better move," she explained, too late to prevent him from getting the wrong idea. She offered her nosy girlfriend a falsely pacifying wave and ducked out the front gate, Sasuke in tow.

They squeezed their way through the thinning crowds, finally reaching the open expanse of the nearby market street, dark with abandonment at this late hour. Sakura breathed in relief, automatically hanging a right.

Sasuke caught her shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"Home?" she asked more than answered, blinking in confusion.

"Your apartment is west."

She resisted the urge to slap a hand to her forehead. How drunk did a person have to be to forget they moved out of their parents' house three months ago? "Of course," she grit out, starting in the opposite direction. Sasuke followed in silence, hands tucked into his robes.

Each click of her heels against the pavement jarred her nerves, but Sakura did not —  _did not —_ sneak any glances at Sasuke. The tall man walked beside her, longer legs taking leisurely but purposeful strides. If she wasn't sure to keep up he would have naturally outpaced her. She cleared her throat.

"Why aren't you drunk? You had even more than me."

"...I am," he answered after a beat of silence. "Quite so, actually."

Sakura's brow twitched in annoyance. The stoic man certainly hid it well.

Before she knew it they had reached her place. It took her a minute to recognize the faded red paint and the upside-down '9' (now a '6') dangling from the front door. She fumbled awkwardly in her bra for her key (ignoring the sting of disappointment when Sasuke didn't even try to peek at the process), removing it and undoing the lock with a resonant click. She pushed open the door to the dark apartment, pausing to turn to her comrade.

"Uh, thank you again. For escorting me," she said carefully, too-conscious of the stereotypical date-like atmosphere. It was bad for her head.

He merely shrugged. "Don't mention it," he replied, not looking uncomfortable in the least. "Have a good night." Was the awkwardness all in her head then? Or maybe...

She squinted at him through the dull glow of the streetlamp, which cast a wan tone on his skin. The alcohol in her blood blurred her vision slightly, playing games with the shadows and making her see his features in a different light. His pupils were darkened with his own intoxication, and his expression was almost...open, unguarded, and without warning Sakura suddenly found her backbone. She turned her head to stare into the empty darkness of her one bedroom apartment, and opened her mouth.

"Would you like to come in? For tea or something?"  _Or something._

She glanced back at where his face should be, only to find herself alone on her doorstep once again. He'd been gone since before she could even get the question out.

Regret crushed her like a blow to the gut, and Sakura could do nothing but stumble into bed without even bothering to take her clothes off.

\- o -

The next morning dawned bright. Too bright.

" _Ow,"_  Sakura moaned into her pillow, squeezing her eyes against the blinding light shining through her uncurtained window. She'd obviously forgotten to pull it shut last night.

She'd forgotten a few other things too — like taking off her shoes, for example, or going to the bathroom before bed. She hoisted herself to her feet, staggering down the hall to the toilet before her bladder could explode. One long shower and cup of coffee later, Sakura felt much better.

Half an hour later, she pressed cooling chakra into her forehead to ease some of her headache, piece of toast dangling out of her mouth as she locked the door behind her. Her legs started off in the direction of the hospital, and as usual Sakura refused to reflect on the events of last night. Much.

There was no point being all embarrassed about it now, her feelings were never exactly a secret. There was one thing and one thing only she could do about it:

Suck it up.

When life doesn't go your way, the adult thing to do is to deal with it. At seventeen, Sakura was pretty much an adult by shinobi standards. Naruto was only the same age and was already poised to be in charge of the entire village. And there was simply no way  _he_ was more of an adult that  _she_ was. Sakura never wanted to lose to her former teammates at anything again.

Love aside, there was nothing wrong with Sakura's life. She had a everything she wanted-- and an important job at the hospital to attend to, after all. One that was crucial to the village.

\- o -

"Waaaaaah!" the toddler screamed, clutching at his mother's leg in mad desperation.

"It'll only pinch for a second Sho-chan," Sakura tried, attempting to pry his tiny fingers from his decidedly unhelpful mom's calf one by one. Chakra would leave bruises, and Haruno Sakura's own strength was more than enough to handle a three-year-old.

His claws tightened convulsively as the wailing increased enough decibels to shatter glass, and Sakura had to reconsider her assessment.

"You're a big boy," she ground out, jaw clenched with effort. "Now.  _Let. Go."_

With a pop like a cork from a champagne bottle, the kid finally flew off, dragging Sakura with him. Her momentum slammed her backward into the medicine cabinet, which burst open to spill its contents all over the floor. Not to mention Sakura's medic uniform. She glared at the q-tip and cotton ball strewn puddle of liquid slowly spreading across the tile, eye twitching dangerously. She prepped her injection, pulling on a pair of latex gloves with an ominous snap. Clearly it was going to be one of those days.

Sho-chan screamed in terror.

\- o -

"Urgh!" Sakura grunted in frustration, rattling the door handle once more. All the spare uniforms were stored in the back room, but her key was wonky and the lock just wouldn't cooperate.

 _Damn_ , she swore, nearly removing the handle entirely by mistake. Just as she was contemplating violence against hospital property on purpose, a soft chuckle resonated behind her.

"You can't force it. Be gentle, like this." A gloved hand reached around her to jiggle the key expertly, easing the lock open with a satisfying click. Sakura glanced over her shoulder in surprise.

"Kaka-sensei!"

"Yo," he greeted with his trademark eye crinkle.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, leading the way into the storeroom and flicking on the light. She winced, the slight headache from the morning's hangover protesting.

"I need a reason to visit my favorite student?"

Sakura offered him a flat look, rummaging through a locker for a fresh shirt. "Don't give me that. You're physically allergic to hospitals. How did you even know how to open that lock, come to think of it?"

His mask twitched. "I am intimately familiar with every lock in this place."

Sakura put two and two together. "Ah. Escape attempts."

" _Successful_  escapes are not referred to as 'attempts,'" he correctly smoothly. Sakura tried to hold back a smile but failed.

"So what do you really want?" she asked, untying the top string of her uniform.

Kakashi, ever the gentleman (not to mention well-trained from missions), politely turned his back to her. "It's my genin. Again," he chuckled, sheepish.

Sakura clucked her tongue, tying up the drawstring on a new pair of pants. "All finished," she announced. Kakashi spun around as she gathered her stained things and tossed them into the communal hamper. She lead the way out the door, locking up behind them. "So what is it this time? Sprained ankle? Bruised ribs? Bruised ego?"

"Broken arm actually."

Sakura snorted. "What a neglectful sensei. Too busy reading smut to watch your kiddos?"

"Hey, it was a dangerous D-rank mission," Kakashi protested, leading the way down the hall. "That cat did  _not_  want to be caught."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh aloud at the memories that brought back. "And I'm sure  _Icha Icha_  had nothing to do with it," she teased as she opened the door to exam room 12B. Over the years she had come to view her ex-sensei as a kind of vaguely irresponsible (if well-meaning) older brother, so she had a right (responsibility, even) to harass him a bit.

"Sakura-sensei!" a chorus of high voices greeted her ears.

"Hey guys," she smiled back, accepting waist-high hugs from her favorite genin team (except from Jin, whose wan face was taut with pain, though he put on a brave show). "I heard we ran into a little trouble on a mission?" She lifted Jin's arm delicately, examining it for the break.

"Jin fell out of the tree!" Eri piped up helpfully.

"Hnn. Nothing we can't fix," Sakura said lightly, pressing a glowing palm to the bone. "Did you capture the cat in the end?" she asked by way of distraction.

"We completed the objective," Tatsuya announced proudly.

"Good job," Sakura praised, already finishing up. The hairline fracture was so microscopic it barely needed energy to heal. She rubbed his muscles down and injected some numbing chakra to ease any lingering soreness. Jin's face relaxed in relief.

"Thank you, Sakura-sensei!"

"You're welcome," she responded, helping him hop down from the exam table. She grabbed her clipboard and smacked him on the butt. "Now scoot, and I don't want to see any of you back here for  _at least_ another day or two. Don't give your sensei any trouble either. He's an old man," she tacked on with a wry glance at Kakashi.

"We make no promises!" squealed Eri as the trio barreled out the door, giggling.

Sakura only shook her head and sighed, pulling up a stool and removing the pen tucked behind her ear. More paperwork. Yay.

Kakashi picked up on her sudden gloom. She shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall, blinking one dark eye at her inquisitively. "Something wrong?"

Sakura's pen hesitated in scratching at the chart. "Not particularly. It's just..." She trailed off, lost in thought.

"I know that look," Kakashi drawled. "Something's on that hyperactive brain of yours."

She sighed again, palm resting in her chin. Green eyes flickered over to him.

"It's just that working with kids is nice and all, but there are only so many cut lips and broken bones the medic in me can stand. Healing during the war as so  _challenging_ , but during times of peace..." She trailed off again, picking at the peeling paint on the counter with her thumbnail idly. "I just don't feel as..."

"Important?" Kakashi supplied, eyebrows raised.

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "You make it sound so vain, but I suppose so."

Kakashi hummed. "I don't really blame you. Everybody needs to feel needed. Have to talked to Tsunade-sama about it?"

Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes and failed miserably. "Only like every day. She won't promote me to department head, but she won't let me take field missions either! She just says I should concentrate on my current work as well as I possibly can to serve the village best. But I don't understand  _why_. I mean, wouldn't I be able to better serve Konoha in a position of more responsibility?" she asked, trying not to think about Sasuke's recent promotion to ANBU captain. Or worse, Naruto's completed Kage training. She swore she would never be stuck looking at her teammates' backs again, yet somehow, inevitably —

Kakashi's voice drew her out of the negative spiral of her thoughts. "I hate to say it Sakura, but that's really Tsunade-sama's judgment to make. She's very fair, and I'm sure she has both your best interests and the village's in mind. Try to be patient, have a little faith."

Sakura frowned, exhaling heavily to blow the bangs out of her face. "Patience. Right. I can do that," she responded, tone not entirely convincing even to her own ears. She picked up her pen with reluctance and resumed her busywork, trying to imagine the graph of one child's weight was really as crucial to the village as her elders would have her believe. It didn't quite work.

"Well at least Ino's in the same boat," she consoled herself aloud. "The day I lose to  _her_ , I'll really have something to gripe about."

Kakashi's mouth quirked. "That's the, uh, spirit, Sakura. Chin up. You've got a fine life."

Sakura nodded absently. "Thanks for talking to me, Kaka-sensei," she called out the door after him. Knowing her sensei's reticent nature, you had to reward him for showing an interest in discussing personal issues or you'd never get two word of advice out of the man again.

"Anytime, Sakura," he answered without turning, offering a lazy wave over his shoulder as he disappeared down the hall.

Sakura went back to her paperwork.

\- o -

"Mine is gonna be awesome."

"Well  _mine_ is gonna be  _mindblowing_."

"Silly Forehead, you have to  _have_  a mind in the first place for it be blown."

"I assure you my forehead isn't this large purely for aesthetic reasons. I'll outsmart you any day of the week, Pig."

"Except for the ones that end in 'y,' of course."

Sakura casually smeared a heaping spoonful of cake batter across Ino's cheek. She froze, blue eyes wide with shock, before they narrowed into glinting chips of ice.

"You. Did. NOT."

The ensuing battle resulted in three shattered dishes, an eggshell-and-chocolate-chip littered kitchen floor, and walls coated in soap suds from floor to ceiling. The two best frienemies stared each other down, getting their breaths back and assessing the damage. Sakura wrung chocolate syrup out of her hair and wiped her hands futilely on her filthy apron.

"Now that that's out of your system, I'm gonna go shower while the cakes ba — INO!"

She was cut off by a blond hurricane barreling past on the way to the bathroom.

"Ino! It's  _my_ shower and I CALL DIBS YOU BLOND BITCH PIGFACE!" she roared, hauling ass after the girl.

The following squabble was no less violent than the kitchen brawl. Sakura earned a black eye, a smashed funnybone from the bathroom counter, and a downed shower curtain for her trouble, but she won the right to go first.

Forty minutes later, both freshly showered and changed kunoichi returned to the destroyed kitchen to wait out the last few minutes of the baking process.

"Mine smells so good I'm drooling already, ugh," Ino moaned, wringing a dish towel dramatically. "I can't wait to see the look on Chouji's face when he tastes it on his birthday. The look on his face when he tastes  _yours,_ though..."

Sakura snorted derisively. "You cannot possibly distinguish the smell of yours from mine when they're baking in the same oven."

"I can so. My nose must be better than yours."

"If by 'better,' you mean 'larger,' sure," Sakura shot back with a grumble. "Why are you so damn competitive?"

"I'm only competitive about important things."

"Like birthday cake baking."

"Precisely. Besides, at least I'm not as competitive as  _you_."

"...I hope even you cannot fail to hear the irony in that statement."

Ino merely shrugged, flipping her hair over one shoulder. "Whatever, Forehead. Green eyes are unbecoming on you."

Sakura flushed hotly. "They're my natural color!"

"Oh, like your pink hair, right," Ino laughed. "And you know that's not what I meant."

Sakura merely grunted and rolled her eyes. Ino was just winding her up on purpose, as usual. She sat down at the kitchen table with a thump.

"What, no witty retort?" Ino asked, brow arched.

Sakura propped an elbow on the table and cupped her chin in her palm stubbornly. Ino pulled out a chair and sat beside her, wrinkle creasing her brow. She poked Sakura in the ribs. "Hey, Forehead."

No response. Ino frowned.

"Hey, is something wrong?"

Sakura sighed. "You're the second person to ask me that today, you know."

Ino quirked a brow. "Well then I'm not wrong. So spill, why so glum?"

"I'm not... glum," Sakura retorted, fidgeting. Ino shot her an unimpressed look. "Okay, fine, I'm a bit put out, but it's stupid because there's nothing wrong. I literally have nothing to complain about."

"So...you're complaining about having nothing to complain about, or — ?"

Her wide forehead smacked the tabletop. "I guess?"

Ino crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Is this about Sasuke?"

Sakura sat up faster than Naruto at the words 'ramen-eating contest.' "No! What? No!"

Ino's expression of extreme skepticism made her squirm again. "Fine, maybe a little. But that's not the whole story!" she insisted, meaning it. "It's just that ever since the war ended, everything's been great for everyone, you know?"

Ino nodded once, before letting her head fall. "Ye — no. I still don't see how that's a bad thing."

"It's not!" Sakura protested, running a hand through her hair. This was really hard to explain. "It's awesome, actually. Naruto's gonna be Hokage. He's dreamed about that since we were twelve; he deserves it more than anyone. We defeated Madara and saved the ninja world. We united the villages. Sasuke finally got revenge for his family and made peace with his loss. Kakashi too — after Obito finally accepted his apology as he was dying, it freed him in some way. I haven't seen him visit the centograph in ages. He's healing, and everyone I love is finally happy and at peace."

Ino's frown deepened. "If everything's so perfect, why aren't you smiling right now when you talk about it?"

Sakura's head and the table became intimate friends again. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I don't know? It just kinda feels like all my friends met their destinies, and I'm still lagging behind as usual."

When a warm hand rubbed Sakura's shoulder soothingly, she nearly jumped out of her skin. She jerked her head off the table to shoot Ino an incredulous stare. "Who are you and what did you do with my bitchy friend?"

Said friend promptly stopped the massage and smacked Sakura in the back of the head. Through the pain, Sakura was inexplicably relieved.

"So much for me trying to be sympathetic, Forehead. If you'd rather wallow in unwarranted self-pity, be my guest."

Sakura winced. "Okay, I deserve that. I  _know_  I don't have room to whine. But that just makes it all the more difficult."

Ino sighed and crossed her arms. "I can kind of see both sides, I guess. The only thing I can tell you, Forehead, is that nothing ever got done by doing nothing, you know?"

Sakura's brow furrowed in thought. "Ino, that's probably the wisest thing you've ever said to me."

"Don't get used to it. Wisdom is more Shikamaru's specialty."

Sakura's thoughtful frown was interrupted by the ding of the oven. The two young women froze, eyes locked. With the screech of two chairs simultaneously moving, they leaped to their feet as one and fought each other for over-opening rights. Sakura won, using a combination of chakra and ruthless hair-pulling (otherwise known to Ino as 'cheating'), and yanked open the oven door enthusiastically.

Her cake was gorgeous: a golden, fluffy yellow mixed with decadent swirls of dark chocolate. A minute later it was cooling on the countertop in all it's glory. When Sakura cut into it, gooey chocolate chips melted before her eyes.

"It's perfect," she sang, not bothering to hide her gleeful smirk. Ino's strawberry and crème concoction was no less visually stunning, but Sakura was confident that hers would win the most important contest — the taste test. Giddy, she brought a moist forkful to her lips, eyelids slipping closed in appreciation of the aroma. She took a bite.

And promptly spat it back out in disgust.

She stared at her traitorous artwork in mute horror. Over in the corner, Ino was having an obvious foodgasm over her own creation. Sakura ignored her sensual moans and lunged for a forkful of her rival's cake. She stuffed it in her mouth.

It was heartbreakingly delectable.

"What the hell!" Sakura exploded, disbelief coloring her cheeks a hectic red. "I don't understand, I followed all the directions exactly. What does yours have that mine doesn't? What could I be missing?"

Ino raised a disturbingly smug eyebrow and helped herself to a bite of Sakura's culinary disaster. She too made a face and ejected the mouthful into a napkin. She shot her friend an 'are you stupid?' look.

" _What?"_

"Sakura. You forgot the sugar."

Sakura's jaw hit the linoleum. She honestly didn't have anything to say to that.

Forty minutes later of grievous kitchen cleanup later, Ino wrapped tin foil over her beautifully iced, flawless cake. Sakura's was resting in peace at the bottom of the trash bin. Obviously she'd be  _buying_  Chouji a gift this year.

She scratched the back of her neck in resignation as she walked Ino to the front door. "Are you sure you don't wanna stay and watch a movie or something? There's that new one with Kousuke Harada."

"Ooh, the one where he meets his bride from the future but mistakes her for his enemy and ends up marrying her twin sister instead?"

"Yeah, and he's shirtless for like 80% of the film."

Ino bit her lip in longing, stepping outside with reluctance. "You know I would Sakura, but I've gotta get some sleep. Mission tomorrow."

Sakura froze. Ino slapped a palm over her mouth. "I mean —"

"You have... a mission?" Sakura choked out, voice strangled. Ino, for once, looked like she wished she'd kept her big mouth shut.

"It's only a minor one —"

"But Tsunade-shishou wasn't letting either of us take field missions!"

Ino shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know, I guess —"

"So this is like a one-time thing, or...?"

Ino suddenly found her shinobi sandals to be very fascinating. "I didn't want to tell you, I knew you'd get upset —"

Sakura was past the ability to listen. "I'm going to talk to shishou."

Ino shot her distressed friend a concerned glance. "Sakura, wait, I don't know if that's a good —"

But Sakura had already disappeared down the sidewalk at a sprint.

\- o -

Sakura flew up the stairs of the Hokage tower three at a time, not even noticing the various passersby narrowly leaping out of her way. Her mind was abuzz with a confusing mix of hurt, humiliation, and anger.

She trusted her shishou implicitly. How could she blatantly lie to her like that? What reason could she possibly have for purposefully holding her back? Hadn't she proved herself with her apprenticeship? With her service during the war? Hadn't she sacrificed enough? What else could she possibly do to earn the same recognition as the others?

Whether it was love or her career, why was Sakura never  _good enough?_

The sting of tears in her eyes only made her flush further with rage. Ino's words came back to her like a match to dry wood: "Nothing ever got done by doing nothing."

Sakura was sick and tired of doing nothing. Of accepting mediocrity. She couldn't just sit back and let her life slip through her fingers, let everyone around her move forward while she stagnated. She would do whatever she had to. She would  _make_  Tsunade understand her value.

Jaw set, she swiped the moisture from her cheeks with her forearm angrily and burst through the imposing double doors of the Hokage's office without bothering to knock.

"Shishou! I need to talk to you  _now!"_

The entire council looked up and stared openly at Sakura. She stared back, paralyzed. The silence that fell was heavy enough to bludgeon a man to death with.

Koharu turned her wrinkled head to Tsunade with a deeply unimpressed expression. "Tsunade-hime. Surely this self-important brat is not the talented young lady you were just telling us about?"

The Godaime turned a sickly shade of puce. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She cleared her throat and tried again.

"My deepest apologies, councillors. If you'll excuse me for a moment."

She stood gracefully, chin high, and strode across the room through the wide-open door, stepping into the hall. Sakura followed automatically, shutting the door as quietly as possible behind them. Someone had replaced her internal organs with live worms. Tsunade did not breathe a word as they walked, the quiet click of her heels the only sound echoing down the empty corridor. She didn't so much as spare her apprentice a backward glance.

Finally, they reached a small door at the end of the hall that Sakura had never opened before. Tsunade turned the handle and Sakura scooted inside before her feet could chicken out.

It was pitch dark; Sakura heard the door swing shut behind them. With a click, a single naked light bulb illuminated the cramped space, revealing a wall of buckets and brooms and mops. If her mentor was locking them in a broom closet together, it could only mean one thing. Sakura started mentally writing her will.

Tsunade, however, did not throw things. She did not destroy walls. She did not even raise her voice. Instead, she pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut, speaking up ever so softly.

"Sakura."

Sakura tried to swallow past the lump in her throat but only succeeded in choking herself. "Y-yes?" she squeaked.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?"

She could only shake her head mutely.

"You'll be lucky if they consider you for the position of hospital director _ever again_ , much less anytime within the next decade."

All the blood drained from Sakura's body at once. Her ears failed her. The room seemed to tilt on its axis, reality sliding sideways. She stuck out an arm to prop against the wall to keep herself upright.

"Wh-what do you mean, hospital dir —"

Tsunade punched the wall. A deep crack spiraled out from the point of impact, shaking the closet and making plaster and dust rain from the ceiling. Sakura visibly recoiled.

"Damn it, Sakura! This is  _exactly_  why you aren't ready!"

Wide-eyed and spluttering, Sakura found her voice. "But-but you wouldn't even promote me — you took me off active duty —"

"To prepare you, which was obviously a monumental waste of time! Weren't you listening to me, girl? I said you needed to concentrate on  _you_ , on  _your_ career, on making a name for yourself among the villagers and earning the respect of the staff! All you had to was your damn job, but you had to do it well. That's it. But instead, you chose to worry about what everyone else was doing with their lives."

Sakura's right knee abruptly gave out and her shoulder hit the wall with a painful crunch, but she somehow didn't fall. The fury in Tsunade's face was not the worst part, oh no. No, it was the acute disappointment that killed her.

"You screwed up my retirement plans spectacularly to boot," Tsunade added, pouring salt into the would liberally and grinding.

Sakura bit back the cake that was threatening to resurface. "Isn't there anything I can —"

"Too little, too late." Tsunade casually kicked a broom over, not seeming at all sorry when it whacked Sakura in the shins. She exhaled heavily, closing her eyes once more. "Though at least half of this is my fault, I freely admit it. You weren't ready. I knew it, and that little  _display_  back there proves it. I should have listened to my gut."

She shook her head and turned her back to Sakura, opening the door. She switched off the overhead light abruptly, plunging the tiny room into darkness — save for the blinding light from the hall enveloping her silhouette.

"But — but what do I do now?" Sakura murmured, squinting against the sudden brightness.

The Godaime paused. The character for 'luck' on her broad back seemed to take up all of Sakura's field of vision. "I don't have all the answers, Sakura. You need to figure it out for yourself. Find what you lack, then come see me."

And with that, Tsunade disappeared.

Sakura stared at the empty space where her mentor had been and slowly, so slowly, sank to her knees.

\- o -

Not even the melody of the crickets, which Sakura had always found so soothing, could calm the turbulence of her mind.

It was so serene and beautiful atop Hokage monument, the lights of Konoha spread out below her like stars that fell from heaven to decorate the dark ground. There was a slight chill in the night air, though not enough to make her shiver, and Sakura hugged her knees closer to her chest.

She sat on Tsunade's enormous stone head in her usual thinking spot, fully aware that all the thinking in the world couldn't get out of this one.

She fucked up.

It was right there, within her grasp, right below her nose and she was too stubborn to even  _see_ it. Her destiny had been within her reach all along. If only she had listened, really  _listened._ If only she'd had faith, like Kakashi said, and enough confidence in herself to not worry about others. Every single thing Tsunade said was accurate, and the guilt and shame of what she'd carelessly thrown away in her ignorance ate at her.

What could she possibly do now, having robbed herself of her own place in the world?

 _Find what you lack,_ Tsunade had told her. This time, Sakura would listen. She would find it.

But kami only knew where to look.

With a sigh like the breeze, Sakura's body sagged backward to lay sprawled across the stone. A boneless lump of girl at the mercy of the universe. She gazed up at the domed ceiling of the world, the full moon hanging conspicuously low like it was considering coming down to join her; the countless pinpricks of light shining from trillions of miles away. For the first time Sakura noted not the stars themselves so much as the spaces between them. The darkness seemed to stand out and call attention to itself, no longer just a backdrop. Numerous as the stars and planets were, the endless miles of emptiness separating them was always overlooked. But there was something beautiful there too, in the in-between. The velvet blue-black sky enveloped her like a blanket, and Sakura felt her tired eyes begin to droop.

Suddenly a river of light illuminated the night — the first meteor shower of the season. The rain of falling stars left white streaks across Sakura's vision, but the beautiful sight stirred a tendril of hope in her belly. She remembered her mother's words on a spring night just like this, so many years ago:

_Make a wish, sweetie._

_Make a wish._

Not in the mood for pragmatism at the moment, Sakura decided to indulge herself just this once. She let her eyes slip closed.

_I just want —_

A moment later, a stab of brightness startled her lids open. Lashes fluttering, she located the source.

Directly overhead in the center of the vast sky, a meteor was growing bigger and bigger. The brightness intensified, and Sakura had to squint against it. She was almost alarmed, except that science dictated the chances of a meteor making it to earth before being burned up by the atmosphere were one in one mill —

And that was when the falling star landed on Sakura's head.

\- o -

"Sakura, wake up."

"Five more minutes, mom," she murmured sleepily, rolling onto her side. But why was her bed hard as a rock? And when was the last time her  _mother_ woke her up? She shivered, groping for a blanket that wasn't there.

A soft hum of amusement. "I'm not your mother."

Sakura's lids flew open in sudden recognition. "S-sasuke-kun?" she asked, disoriented.

He looked down at her, a semi-smile painted on his lips. He offered her a hand.

Blinking back surprise, she accepted, spine tingling at the warmth of his broad palm enveloping her own. "Thank you," she said, sitting up unsteadily.

"What are you doing up here?" he asked

A shooting star lit up her mind, but she filed that away under 'embarrassing flights of fancy no one should know about under any circumstances  _ever_.'

"...I come alone up here to think sometimes," she evaded.

Sasuke's expressions grew thoughtful. He sat down beside her, closer than she would've guessed he'd feel comfortable with.

"When I want to think, I sit on the roof of the old police station in the Uchiha compound. But this has a nicer view," he remarked, admiring the colorful rows of people dotting the streets like ants, and the swaying forest surrounding the village in the distance.

A breeze ruffled his inky hair, and Sakura tried not to stare in shock. It wasn't that she and Sasuke weren't friendly — far from it, in fact. She was one of the few people in the village he trusted enough to let close to him. It was just that Sasuke never opened up  _anyone_  like this, preferring to keep his thoughts to himself. He kept a respectful emotional distance from her in particular, no doubt because her unrequited feelings made him uncomfortable.

But right now, he didn't look uncomfortable in the least. He gazed at her with relaxed interest.

She swallowed, shaking herself from her daze. "What are  _you_  doing up here, Sasuke-kun?"

"Looking for you."

Blood pooled in her cheeks, heart stuttering. She was obviously reading into his intentions too much, but she could hardly help her physiological reactions —

She nearly yelped when he lifted her hand, turning it over delicately in his own. He examined the lines of her palm idly, tracing them with a gentle finger.

"Sakura, I've been thinking."

Sakura's heart was in danger of exploding in her chest. This couldn't be happening. She must be hallucinating or dreaming, unless that falling star somehow actually —

"You're one of the few people who've always cared for me, no matter what mistakes I made."

He entwined their fingers together, and Sakura wondered if she could die from the overwhelming feeling of hope and fear fighting in her belly.

"I haven't always been kind to you. No, that's an understatement — I've been downright unforgivable at times," he continued, oblivious to her shaking. "But I've always cared for you in my own way. I didn't think that was enough, that you deserved someone who could give you more. The most. But maybe —"

His dark eyes locked on hers like an electric shock to the system.

"Maybe it is. Maybe it doesn't have to be sunbursts and fireworks, maybe just being comfortable is enough. If...if that's what you want, of course."

The depth in his black eyes gave Sakura the illusion she was being pulled toward him, sucked in like gravity. Suddenly his face was mere inches from hers, and Sakura realized it was no illusion. Her eyes slid down his face to the soft, pink lips filling her field of vision. Her existence.

"If this is what you want," he repeated, cool breath ghosting across her lips. Sakura's heart fluttered like a hummingbird trapped in her ribcage. She couldn't budge a muscle.

Sasuke's mouth moved to descend on hers, and suddenly panicked doubt spiked through her veins.

_If this is what you want, Sakura._

_What you want._

_Make a wish._

_Find what you lack._

_What you_ _**lack.** _

_What you_ _**want.** _

The wrongness of the moment crashed into Sakura like a tidal wave, sending her mind reeling.

"Wait," she choked. "This isn't —"

"Sakura," said Sasuke.

"I don't —" Blackness drowned her.

"Sakura."

"Sakura!"

" _Sakura!"_

"Nnnrgh," she mumbled coherently, refusing to open her eyes against the blinding light. Obviously her head had been run through a meat grinder recently.

" _Sa-ku-ra!"_  The persistent shaking of her shoulders finally caused her to crack her eyes open. Naruto crouched over her, a blonde mass eclipsing the sun.

"Get up, I said! We're supposed to be there at noon, we're gonna be  _late."_

Sakura allowed him to help her sit up gingerly, wincing and cradling her head in her hand. She hissed in pain. "Owowowowowow." This was far worse than the worst hangover she'd never had.

"What happened to you? I've been looking everywhere for you!" Naruto exclaimed, a rare look of irritation scrawled across his features.

Sakura's brow furrowed. "You have?"

"Of course! Did you fall asleep up here or what?"

"No...yeah. I-I think I must've hit my head last night," Sakura deduced from the pounding in her skull. Because obviously shooting stars did  _not_  just go around falling on people. How ridiculous would that be?

"Well that explains why you're so out of it. Hurry up, like I said we're gonna be  _late."_ He nearly dislocated her arm, yanking her to her feet with such exuberance.

Sakura took a moment to steady herself before taking off running down the mountainside after his retreating figure, ignoring the way her brain was trying to claw its way out of her ears. She wracked it instead, but came up empty. "Late for what? Is something going on today?" she called.

Naruto spared her an odd backwards glance. "The mission, of course."

Now Sakura was really confused. "I'm back on active duty?" she asked, bewildered. Was she reinstated because she was no longer a candidate for hospital director? But if so, why hadn't anyone told her? How long was she unconscious for, exactly?

"Geez, how hard  _did_  you hit your head?" Naruto asked as she caught up, concern creasing his brow.

"Pretty hard, I guess. I can feel the throbbing behind my eyeballs," she confessed unhappily. "But what mission? And why do you keep calling me 'Sakura'?"

He looked at her like she was losing it. "Because that's your  _name?_ It's not funny to joke about amnesia at a time like this."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "No kidding. I meant, what happened to 'Sakura-chan'?"

Naruto's expression morphed into something even stranger. "You hate it when I call you Sakura-chan."

She frowned. "No I don't. I obviously would've mentioned something like that years ago —"

Now it was Naruto's turn to roll his eyes. "Okay, whatever, Sakura- _chan._ Just quit dragging, what part of 'nearly late' is not registering?"

Boy, he sure was prickly this morning. Maybe he got into a rare fight with Hinata? Sakura made a mental note to step more carefully around him. "Since when are you such a stickler for being on time?"

"Since you know how sensei gets when we're even a minute off."

Naturally Sakura had to laugh aloud. If this was Naruto's idea of deadpan humor, he had just crossed the line past was what even remotely believable. "Oh right, because  _he's_ the perfect example of punctuality. Come on Naruto, if we're meeting at noon you know I have at least two hours. Let me go home and change clothes. I reek."

The blond man looked at her like she had just confessed her undying love for Rock Lee. "Are you crazy!? I like living, thanks. Sensei already has our uniforms with him, it's not like we can just carry those things around you know. Besides, we're already —" He paused to glance at the watch on his wrist. Sakura blinked in surprise, suddenly unsure of whether her teammate normally wore such a thing. "Shit!  _Shitshitshit_ he and Sasuke have been waiting for six minutes already! MOVE!"

And then he was a black and orange blur, far ahead. Bewildered, Sakura trailed him to the old pre-mission meeting spot just outside of Ichiraku, where the backs of two figures in jounin vests stood conversing together in the distance. Sakura blinked hard, did a double take, and blinked again, slowing to a disbelieving halt. She looked at the building's red curtains and unfamiliar hanging lanterns and knew something was horribly, horribly wrong.

Ichiraku wasn't Ichiraku anymore. In its place stood a soba shop she'd never seen before in her life.

Sasuke glanced over at their arrival and said something to the taller man, who turned slowly. Dark eyes pierced her. Not one eye, but  _two._

"You're late," Uchiha Itachi said with dangerous softness.

Sakura screamed.


	2. Dark Side of the Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't truly a new chapter (it's been posted at The Pit for far too long now!), but I finally remembered to update over here because...wait for it...I am actually working on a new chapter (!!!). These past few months have been the busiest time of my life, but apparently there is light at the end of the tunnel after all! New chapter will be out around New Year's come hell or high water. It may be the slowest-written fic in the world, but someday (20 years from now?) it will be FINISHED. No matter what. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

_"Kai!"_

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, the world was exactly the same.

Which was the entire problem, of course.

Uchiha Itachi watched her with wary black eyes that should have belonged to a corpse.

_"Kai! Kai! Kai!"_

Predictably, nothing happened. Well, nothing save for the dubious expressions her teammates were shooting her. Sakura had to backtrack that thought: were these people actually her teammates at all?

"Um, Sakura. What are you doing?" Naruto asked, somehow-unfamiliar blue eyes clouding over with seriousness.

"No. Nope. Nonononono," she told herself sternly, shaking her head back and forth, pink hair flying. She squeezed her eyes shut again and counted backwards from ten in her head.

"Uh. Are you okay, Sakura?" The obvious concern in Sasuke's voice threw her for a loop. Sasuke looked like Sasuke, but something in the air about him was horribly un-Sasuke.

"This can't be happening," she declared to no one in particular. "I'm dreaming, or hallucinating, or…" she trained round green eyes on Itachi, grasping at straws. "Are you under Edo Tensei?"

His scleroses were a normal white, not the signature grey of the undead, but maybe it was just her perception of color that was off. Maybe when she hit her head…

Black bled into Sharingan red as he studied her from a respectful distance. "Edo Tensei? Some kind of jutsu?"

Sakura pinched her arm so hard she left bruises. Itachi ignored the questioning glances of the other two as he gazed at Sakura carefully, shoulders tensed imperceptibly.

"She's not under genjutsu," he concluded. "Her chakra signature is her own, but… does it seem slightly different to you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's identical Sharingan bored into her like a spotlight. Sakura tried jerking herself awake by pounding the back of her skull with her fist, but only succeeded in rattling her abused brain further.

"Agreed. It's definitely her, but the way chakra flows through her system is...altered."

"Hnn. It seems to be her true body, too — her scent is unchanged."

Sasuke shot his brother a sideways glance at that remark, which went ignored.

"Okay, okay," Naruto interjected. "So she's really herself. But then why is she behaving like this? She was spouting nonsense the whole way here —"

"Speak for yourself!" Sakura burst out, unable to hold her tongue any longer while they talked about her like she wasn't even there. Illusions or not, that was just rude. "You're the ones with personality transplants!" She leveled an accusing finger at Itachi. "And he's not even alive!" she squawked, unable to quite look at the apparent zombie in question, much less address him directly. That would be way too much like acknowledging his existence.

Her situation was finally beginning to dawn on her: whether asleep or under genjutsu, or whatever rational explanation for this alternate version of reality there may be, she simply had no way to wake up.

She couldn't control it.

She was stuck.

The other three stared in dumbfounded silence at her words. Sakura whipped her head around, searching for something — anything — that could help her. The lunch rush started crowding the doorway of the soba restaurant that should have been Ichiraku. Ordinary citizens strolled past along the nearby street, chatting and laughing, oblivious to the impossible circumstances that Sakura now found herself in. She tried to calm her frantic heart, but a growing roar in her ears seemed to drown out all sound. She clenched and unclenched her fists spasmodically, before both legs took off without warning in the direction of Hokage tower.

Three male bodies appeared instantly to block her path.

"Where are you going?" Itachi demanded.

"I need to talk to Tsunade-shishou!"

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a look of confusion. "You mean Senju? Senju Tsunade? What does she have to do with —"

"You've no right to keep me from speaking to the Hokage!"

Three sets of brows raised, and Sakura was getting a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. To her surprise, Sasuke spoke up in her favor.

"She has a point," he conceded.

"I think I should —" Naruto began, but Itachi cut him off smoothly.

"I'll take her."

Naruto and Sasuke nodded as one, all traces of protest wiped from their expressions.

"Obviously the mission is postponed. You two are dismissed until further notice. Do not go far, I will keep you informed of proceedings through the usual method."

"Yes, taichou," they chorused, gone before Sakura could so much as blink.

Which left her alone with Uchiha Itachi, of course.

Sakura bolted.

It wasn't that she was scared of Itachi per se (though perhaps some small part of her brain would never be able to rid itself of the image of him as a crazy, bloodthirsty murderer). The horrible truth behind the Uchiha Massacre had been public knowledge since Sasuke's return to the village at the end of the war, so she wasn't afraid of him. Much. It was more like the mere fact of his impossible — yet undeniable — physical presence freaked her the hell out.

When a very real arm caught her wrist from behind, Sakura almost lost it.

"Don't touch me!" she screeched, yanking it from his grip with a burst of chakra. To her shock, the maneuver actually succeeded.

Itachi fell away, a look of surprise painted on his features. Sakura chanced a glimpse over her shoulder as she hurtled forward in a blind panic, eyes zeroing in on his shrinking figure behind her. She swung her head around, leaping into the air over the fence to Training Field B —

— and slammed into a body midair. Firm arms wrapped around her middle like vices, and the two shinobi crashed to the dirt together.

The red glare of the Sharingan looked up at her, paralyzing her muscles with fear.

"You are not my Sakura," he stated firmly, without question.

"And you are not real," she returned with equal certainty.

They stared at each other for a brief moment, deadlocked, before Sakura was lost to the slow spiral of black on red, her consciousness escaping like grains of sand through parted fingers.

\- o -

" — stronger than Sakura, but sloppy. Not the way I trained her at all. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say her technique reminded me more of —"

"She's awake."

Sakura groaned, opening her eyes with extreme reluctance. It seemed like every time she did that she woke up to some reality even stranger than the last.

She took in the sight of her own feet first — good, that was still normal, at least — and the plush green carpet of the Hokage's office. She was sitting in a chair in the Hokage's office. Okay. She could deal with that. She took a deep breath and hesitantly raised her eyes.

Uchiha Itachi and Namikaze Minato stared down at her.

Sakura wanted to cry.

"Noooo," she moaned helplessly, shaking her head. "That's not any better. You're dead too," she informed him.

He and Itachi exchanged a glance.

"See what I mean," the latter mumbled. Minato, however, adopted a gentle expression. He knelt down beside her, at eye level. Sakura buried her face in her hands.

"Your name is Haruno Sakura, right?"

Startled, she peeked at him through her fingers. "Of course."

He nodded thoughtfully, considering her. "Do you know where you are?"

"I'm in the Hokage's office. In Konoha," she added helpfully. There was something reassuring about being able to correctly answer his questions. She was certain of so little, right now.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Namikaze Minato. You're Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage."

He offered her a small smile. "Yes, that's true. And we know each other well, right?"

She shook her head violently. Minato's brow creased. "We've never met?"

"Noooo. You died when I was a baby. Naruto's an orphan."

He tapped a finger against his chin thoughtfully. "That's odd, because as you can see I'm very much alive right now. Is there anything else… different to you?"

Sakura's eyes shot towards Itachi like magnets. "He should be dead, too. And Naruto stopped calling me 'Sakura-chan,' and Sasuke was showing open concern, and the ramen-ya sells soba now, and everything is just wrong." She planted her face firmly into her hands again, as though that could possibly shut everything out. "I must be dreaming. This is a nightmare, but I just can't wake up."

The cogs in Minato's brain were almost audibly whirring. "No," he said slowly. "I'm a real person, with a real life and a family and a history. I think, I plan, I make mistakes. I like birds and miso soup. There's no way someone else just dreamed up my whole 37 years of existence. Surely you wouldn't deny me my right to exist?"

Sakura's gaze snapped up at that, deeply unsettled. The clear blue of Minato's eyes pierced her, so similar to Naruto's, the kind of earnest eyes one wants to believe in. She hesitated. "But your existence makes no sense according to everything I know!"

He nodded. "I believe you."

Sakura's jaw gaped. "You do?"

"Yes. I believe you're telling the truth. There must be a logical explanation for this; we just have to find it."

Words had never sounded sweeter to Sakura's ears. If she was more certain he was real, she would even have considered kissing him.

"I do have one theory, actually," he continued, and Sakura's heart leapt to her throat. "What were you doing before things started to go… strange?"

"I was sitting on top of Hokage mountain in my usual spot. Just thinking."

Minato glanced up at Itachi, who nodded. "I can confirm that. She told me she was going there herself earlier yesterday evening."

Sakura tugged on her hair. "No I didn't! I would definitely remember speaking to a dead man!"

"Maybe you didn't," Minato said with a faraway glint to his eyes. "But the Sakura we know did."

"Come again?" she barked.

"Sakura. You seem to be from somewhere… else."

"I'm from Konoha!"

He sighed. "I know, but clearly not this Konoha. Not as I know it."

Sakura couldn't really argue with that. "So what does that mean?" she pressed. "What happened to me? Who are all of you?"

"Are you familiar with the Torikae?"

Sakura blinked. "The what? Is that a technique?"

It was Itachi's turn to rest his head in his hand.

"Er — no. It's a bloodline limit unique to the Haruno clan," Minato offered delicately.

Sakura picked her jaw up off the floor. "...Excuse me?"

"I'm guessing that's a 'no', then."

Sakura made a gurgling sound somewhat like a drowning walrus.

"I believe you!" Minato supplied hastily, holding up pacifying hands. "I don't know where you're from exactly, but the Sakura I know does have a bloodline limit. Here, in this Konoha, the Haruno clan had an ability to summon or send objects… elsewhere. No one knows exactly how it works, and it's never been successfully used on a human being before to my knowledge, but some theorized it could… manipulate the barriers between, ah… Sakura, have you ever heard of the theory of alternate universes?"

Sakura blinked. She stood and walked over to the big window overlooking Konoha. She unlatched it and casually climbed out onto the ledge, stepping off.

She hadn't come anywhere close to falling before Itachi snatched her back inside and bolted the window shut. He moved so fast his reaction was clearly more a reflex than a conscious decision.

"If this isn't a genjutsu and I'm not sleeping, then I'm obviously crazy. I have a right to end it!" she exploded. "Either that or I'm dead and in some kind of bizarre hell, in which case it doesn't matter if I fall to my doom anyway! At least let me test the theory!"

He glared at her. "Stop being so dramatic. You've handled much worse than the truth before."

"You don't know anything about me or what I've handled!"

Itachi actually looked taken aback. His jaw snapped shut as he stared at her in shocked silence.

Sakura whirled on Minato. "So you're telling me that not only do so-called alternate universes exist, but my family can manipulate them? My family?"

Minato looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, they could."

Sakura's brain smoothly ignored the extremely notable use of the past tense, unable to even touch that right now. A sudden thought hit her instead.

"Where is Kaka-sensei? If you won't let me talk to shishou I want to talk to him at least. Please."

Minato exchanged a startled glance with Itachi. Sakura was getting real sick of seeing that same expression on their faces every time she opened her mouth.

Minato cleared his throat. "You don't mean… Hatake Kakashi?"

"Of course that's who I mean," she snapped, beyond done with this situation. "I want to talk to him."

"Sakura, where you're from… who is he?"

"My team captain. He used to be me, Naruto, and Sasuke's jounin sensei when we were genin." Itachi had gone uncannily still, and that uncomfortable feeling was rising in her stomach again. "Why, who is he… here?"

Minato took a breath and gazed directly at her, seriousness and sympathy evident in his eyes. "This is difficult to tell you, Sakura, but you deserve to know. He's been a missing-nin for the last eight years."

Sakura was so stunned she forgot to breathe. It took her a moment to get her lungs functioning again to ask the next, imperative question. "But why?"

Minato's gaze didn't waver. "For the massacre of the Haruno clan."

"Oh," Sakura said, blinking. "Of course. Of course he is."

Itachi eyed her the way someone would a bomb possibly about to explode.

"Well. This has all been very interesting, hasn't it?" She coughed once, offered an idle smile to the two should-be-dead men, and promptly passed out.

Once more, Itachi caught her.

\- o -

_Yesterday, Wind Country. 09:59:23 am._

The radio crackled in the kunoichi's ear. "Status?"

"Wolf in position," she promptly responded, voice muted by the white porcelain mask on her face.

"Fox in position."

"Hawk in position."

"Affirmative. Mark 30 and counting."

The next command went unsaid. The radios were merely a formality; ANBU Squad Zero hardly needed them.

The wolf-masked kunoichi shifted her weight slightly where she crouched, careful to modify her genjutsu to hide the sand displaced by the movement. There was nowhere to take cover in the farthest reaches of the desert.

The security vault was an imposing stone building almost completely buried by sand. Behind a fence electrified with lightning-natured chakra dozens of guards swarmed like bees, the rust red of their Suna uniforms bleached pale by the blistering sun.

She squinted up at the bright orb in the sky. Ten seconds.

Despite their flawlessly masked chakra, she knew her teammates dotted around the perimeter were doing the same. She always knew. Fox would be itching to move by now, but years of discipline had taught him the kind of self-restraint few others ever learned.

Five seconds.

One of the guards stilled abruptly, turning to stare over his shoulder at the place she instinctively knew Hawk to be. Her body crouched in readiness, muscles coiled for the spring.

Two.

The guard must have been an unusually gifted sensor-type, because not even Wolf could feel the tiny chakra fluctuations indicative of an impending large-scale genjutsu. He tapped the shoulder of the guard next to him, but it was far too late for that.

One.

The sun reached its exact ten o' clock position in the sky just as the electric fence sputtered and died. The teeming mass of guards halted, frozen in place, a still frame photo. Suddenly, like neat rows of human dominoes, every last one collapsed where they stood, eyes glazed and staring.

Squad Zero converged on the entrance as one, Hawk and Crow a mere half step behind, slowed by the aftereffects of their dual genjutsu.

Hawk dispatched the lock system on the door with a single well-placed jab while Fox took care of the complicated sealing jutsu surrounding it. In a flash the four man team was inside the vault and all over the unsuspecting guards.

The vault was a single room, ceiling supported by a series of stone pillars. It was completely enclosed, which was probably supposed to make escape difficult or impossible for intruders, but actually worked out to Squad Zero's advantage. It was only those who stood between them and their mission objective that were in need of escape.

Wolf took out three enemies with a single roundhouse kick. Lightning and wind jutsu crackled behind her as she scanned the crowded chamber for Crow's familiar back.

"Watch yourself," came his warning from somewhere to her left.

She spun just in time to avoid a razor sharp gust of wind to the face. Stands of black hair floated to the floor, fading to pink on their way down.

The kunoichi caught them mid air and pocketed them — it wouldn't do to leave evidence behind regardless of the fact that their identities were possibly the worst kept secret in ANBU history.

However, it didn't matter if their enemies recognized them or not. Anyone in their way was swiftly and summarily eliminated.

Wolf took a deep breath, hot chakra pooling in her lungs. She exhaled a fireball directly into her attacker's face. The inferno took out the four behind him as well, leaving behind the acrid stench of burning flesh. She looked up to see the last remaining guard fall to his knees, chest slashed open by Hawk's ninjatou. He casually swiped it through the air, flinging flecks of crimson to decorate the walls. He wiped it with a cloth before resheathing it, nodding once to Crow.

"All taken care of, taichou." He tapped the nearest pillar with the hilt of his sword in a deliberate way.

Crow nodded in turn, leading the way to the center of the large room, stepping carefully around the bodies littering the floor.

The group stopped at a stone dais, upon which an unassuming black square about the size of a jewelry box perched. A forcefield crackled with strange colorless energy around it like nothing they'd ever seen before. It certainly wasn't chakra. Amaterasu could destroy it no doubt, but it might take out the prize within as well. Crow took one wary look at it and made a quick decision.

"Wolf."

She stepped forward, forcing chakra to circulate through her system in reverse. Hundreds of tiny glowing freckles dotted her skin, hair turning white even in spite of the henge.

An empty circle of white light enclosed the pedestal, identical to the smaller circle hidden beneath the kunoichi's mask in the center of her forehead. The light steadily intensified, a crescendo of brightness, until with a sudden flash and pop of displaced air, the forcefield simply vanished.

The kunoichi's right knee hit the floor hard, her breathing erratic. Whatever that barrier had been made of, moving it was heavy. She felt the familiar sensation of an object of equivalent mass and nature bursting into existence nearby, somewhere just outside the compound, but there was no time to wonder what she'd summoned in exchange for sending the forcefield elsewhere.

Crow abruptly yanked her to her feet as Hawk made a lunge for the black box, but he was a fraction of a second too slow. A kunai knocked it from his outstretched hand as three full ANBU squads of Sand reinforcements descended from nowhere.

The box arched through the air, hitting the stone floor with a clatter that rang in the ears of every shinobi in the vicinity. It burst open, a small round object flying out, no bigger than a large marble.

Crow was on it before the others could so much as blink. His teammates covered him with their ninjatou while he snatched it up in one tight fist, rolling out of the way of a lightning bolt smoothly. Hawk carefully tapped the center-most pillar with the hilt of his sword again, and the entire compound began to shake and rumble ominously, chunks of stone raining from the ceiling.

"Fox!" Crow called, leaping out of the deadly path of Hawk and Wolf's carefully timed dual katon attack. The quaking increased, the building beginning to cave around them.

"On it, sensei!" the whisker-masked man replied, making a single seal.

Squad Zero disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the Sand shinobi to barely escape the collapsing structure with their lives. The surviving ninja could do nothing but gaze at the pile of rubble that had once been Suna's most secure vault, the bodies of their countrymen buried underneath it. They stared at the empty space their opponents should have occupied in stunned silence.

"They were Fire Country's Yonnin, weren't they?" one of them said after a long beat.

" _The_ Legendary Four?"

"Well. Fuck."

\- o -

Hundreds of miles away, the group rematerialized under a large oak tree about a thousand meters west of Konoha's front gates.

"Injuries?" was the perfunctory first word out of their captain's mouth.

All three shook their heads simultaneously. "None."

"As expected." Crow pulled the marble out of his pocket, examining it. "Objective complete. At ease."

A collective sigh issued from the group as four masks fell away.

Naruto shook out blonde locks, yanking the kunai with the special tag for hiraishin from the tree trunk behind him. "Geez, when that box opened I was actually kinda worried, you know."

"Really now," Sasuke drawled. "After a perfect record for the last ten years you thought we could possibly fail mission number 1,001?"

Sakura frowned, white hair slowly brightening back to pink. "You're too casual, Sasuke. We don't even know what it does, much less what the potential consequences of breaking it would be."

She felt Itachi nod his agreement behind her. Sasuke suppressed an eyeroll towards Naruto… poorly.

The other man's stern answering glance didn't last long before melting into intrigue despite himself. Curious blue eyes flitted to Itachi's closed fist. "So, uh...what does it do?"

"That is hardly our place to ask," came the older man's clipped response.

Naruto looked suitably abashed. "Er — of course not, sensei," he said, ears turning pink. He began to shrug off his outermost layer of ANBU armor and hoist his shirt over his head.

That was Sakura's cue to disappear behind the nearest tree. By the time she emerged, Naruto and Sasuke had disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a pile of discarded uniforms and gear. Itachi perfunctorily sealed them into a scroll together with his and Sakura's things and started off towards Konoha, pink-haired teammate in tow.

They walked in companionable silence for some distance before she snuck a glance at him out of the corner of her eye.

One black brow arched as if to say, Yes?

Her mouth curled, expression almost mischievous. "So… you gonna show me or what?"

Itachi's lips twitched. He looked around, sensing their teammates' chakra signatures already back in town, parked at the usual table in Kagaya. With a flick of his wrist the orb reappeared from whatever secret place he'd had it stashed. He tossed it to Sakura, who caught the surprisingly dense sphere deftly between her index and middle fingers. She held it up to the light of the midmorning sun for inspection.

It didn't glitter. It didn't even glint or shimmer dully. It fact, it was an onyx so deep it seemed to suck the light in instead of reflect it out, despite having the feel of cool glass to the touch. She turned it over in her palm, marveling at the almost undetectable tingling in her fingers. It wasn't actively emitting energy, but something about it felt vaguely familiar in her hand. She idly wondered what would happen if she put chakra into it.

Quick fingers snatched it back. "Sakura," Itachi intoned, voice low with warning.

She laughed. "I would never!"

"Hnn." With two quick seals he summoned a crow to his shoulder, placing the sphere carefully into its beak. "To the Yondaime," he instructed. The crow nodded once before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"What do you think it does though?" Sakura pressed.

A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "I don't know."

She snorted. "But you have a guess that will no doubt prove correct."

His cheek twitched in amusement. "Judging by the level of security protecting it in spite of its apparent uselessness, it looks to me like an object meant for a specific group of ninja."

"So the right hands have to use it."

"Perhaps only those with the right blood. A clan or family, for example."

She went quiet at that, breaking eye contact to stare at the trees in the distance. Itachi cleared his throat.

"My apologies. It was thoughtless of me to —"

"It's fine, Itachi. I'm not nearly as delicate as you seem to think."

The persisting look in his eyes made her tack on a chuckle. "It's kind of amusing when you're overly concerned though."

He stared determinedly ahead, but his too-stiff spine gave him away.

"What would you do if my emotionally fragile self burst into tears at your callousness, I wonder?" she goaded, delighting in the ghost of a pink tinge she imagined on his cheeks. "Would we have to hug it out, taichou?"

He sped up. "If we don't hurry, our teammates will eat the restaurant out of soba and still manage to foist the bill onto us. Again."

She laughed, matching the familiar upward curve of his lips with a grin of her own.

Their silent understanding was that they would race the rest of the way, which they did. Itachi won, but just by a hair's breadth. And possibly only because — whether in training or jest — Sakura always stopped just short of pushing him too far.

\- o -

The smoothly polished double doors swung shut with a slight creak, but there was no call of "I'm home!" to accompany it. That once-ingrained habit had faded long ago.

Sakura hung up her pack and outerwear weapons on the wall neatly, stepping out of her shoes and stowing them in their proper place on the rack. It could hold up to a dozen pairs, but the bottom cubby second-closest to the door was the one she'd used since she was a little girl.

She made her way through the spacious Western-style foyer, down the hall and past the tastefully furnished living and family rooms, avoiding the den. She cut through the dining room on her way to the stairs, but a flutter of paper in the adjacent kitchen caught her eye.

Bare feet plodded across the shiny tile floor to stop in front of the fridge. She plucked the note from the gleaming surface and opened it.

Darling,

I've been informed of unexpected clan business I must attend to. Unfortunately I will be unable to make our dinner date tonight. I send my regrets.

A sigh escaped her. He never called her 'darling' unless it was to apologize. She crumpled the paper in one hand and deposited it carelessly in the trash bin under the sink, turning on her heel to make her way back towards the stairs. Her footsteps echoed throughout the various empty rooms as she walked. On a sudden impulse, she returned to the kitchen to grab a glass and uncorked the bottle of expensive plum wine meant for tonight, pouring one for herself and taking it with her upstairs.

There was plenty to do in her room. Sakura sipped her wine while she stripped her bed, changing the sheets — repeating the process for the three upstairs guest bedrooms while she was at it. She finished folding the load of laundry from earlier this morning and put it away in her closet neatly. There was dusting to be done, bathroom sinks to be scrubbed, and gleaming hardwood floors to be swept. She whiled away the afternoon, cleaning the house from top to bottom, making sure to water all the potted plants as well. It was an impressive feat; had any other single person lived in a house so large, the upkeep would have been a nightmare. But it was nothing she couldn't handle by herself.

When there was really nothing left to clean, Sakura headed to the smallest bedroom near the stairs, the one that had been hers in another lifetime. Gone were the pink wallpaper and white curtained windows; she opened the door to the familiar sight of row upon row of deadly weapons. Shelves of assorted kunai, senbon, specialized chakra tools, top secret poisons, swords of every type lined the walls. Collections of foreign tools she'd picked up along her travels were sorted into boxes and tucked away in organized alcoves. The space was carefully arranged to allow room to walk among the arsenal, but only just enough. She never imagined she'd have to upgrade to a larger room when she first began collecting, but with every passing year it only looked more likely.

She took another sip of wine and located the bottle of clove oil on its rack by the door. She unscrewed the lid, grabbed a rag and got to work, starting with the most loved weapons down to the least used, purely decorative ones.

She saved the most important for last, however. She put everything in the armory back in its proper place, taking the clove oil and nearly empty wine glass to-go. She padded down the hall back to the master bedroom, getting down on her knees and groping under the bed for a box of sentimental items.

She pulled it out and removed the photo album from the top, setting it aside; she wasn't in quite a melancholy enough mood to peruse its contents at the moment. Instead she removed a smaller, unpolished wooden box, admiring the Uchiha crest engraved across the grain on the lid. She opened it carefully.

The wink of steel catching the light greeted her like an old friend. The kunai was worn and old — ancient, in fact — but sharpened to such a razor fine point it could slice a molecule in two so cleanly the pieces would fit back together.

She picked it up by the handle reverently, feeling it call to the fire-natured chakra flowing through her system. It had been a gift from Itachi the day she mastered the last Uchiha fire jutsu he'd taught her — her fourteenth birthday. The same day she'd used it to pass the ANBU exam.

The last day she'd ever called him sensei.

Needless to say, the clan had been most displeased when they found out he'd given away a family heirloom to an outsider, but decorum said they could hardly ask for a gift back. Which was lucky for Sakura; she was very attached. He'd even saved her life with it once.

She polished the blade slowly, careful not to nick herself. She rewrapped the blue bindings tightly around the handle before placing it onto its bed of soft cloth and closing the lid. She placed it carefully back into the box, balancing the photo album on top, and slid the lot back out of sight under the bed. Out of mind.

Red-gold light from the setting sun streamed in through the windows, and Sakura headed downstairs to get dinner started.

\- o -

She sat at the head of the long table, plate piled high with tarragon chicken, roasted peppers and boiled potatoes. A fresh glass of chilled wine glittered to her right, crisp linen napkin spread across her lap. She picked up her fork and knife and took a bite.

Something was missing.

She gazed past the small floral centerpiece as she chewed, eyes resting on the high-backed chair at the far end of the table. Empty like the others, yet full of too many ghosts. She swallowed and stood, walking to the center of the table to light two candles in silver holsters with a small katon. She returned to her seat and resettled her napkin, watching the orange flicker of flame idly. She took another bite.

Restlessness slid into her belly along with the food. Giving up, she stood and packed up her disappointing meal, putting it in the fridge for later. She cleared off the setting for one from the table, making sure to blow the candles out.

She marched upstairs to shower and change, hoping she hadn't already missed her opportunity.

\- o -

Sakura took a deep breath, adjusting the hem of her dress. It was a basic black number, not too formal and not too casual, and most importantly not too revealing for even the most traditional of families. It was her only dress, and she had chosen well when she'd bought it. The straight neckline accentuated her collarbone in a flattering way.

She didn't understand why she felt compelled to wear it here all the time; she showed up at least twice a week in it. It was just dinner. Nothing special. Yet something in the back of her subconscious told her she should mind her appearance. And if there was one thing Sakura's life had taught her, it was to always trust her instincts. Not much else was trustworthy.

She tucked an errant strand of pink back into her bun and rang the bell.

"Sakura-chan!"

Uchiha Mikoto's smile greeted her, warm light flooding onto the porch around her face like a halo. That smile, once so welcoming and familiar, now had an edge of something else to it. Sakura either couldn't explain the change or didn't want to, other than that it began about a year or so ago and had only gotten worse with time.

"Good evening, okaa-san." She returned the older woman's smile with practiced grace, careful to attach the honorific to the title.

"We were just about to sit down to supper, would you care to join us?"

"I —" Sakura's stomach chose that moment to chime in her agreement. Mikoto politely laughed it off, pretending not to notice the deep flush painting the girl's cheeks.

"Please, come in," she said, ushering Sakura into the foyer. "Sasuke! Sakura-chan is here!"

"Why do you always call her that, kaa-san, you know she hates it," a voice grumbled from down the hall. Sasuke appeared, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, hair in disarray.

Mikoto took one look at the rumpled t-shirt he'd obviously been napping in and frowned. "Sasuke. We have a guest."

Her youngest son snorted. "Sakura's not a guest. She practically lives here."

A red-faced Sakura shot him her best shut the fuck up, you idiot glare behind Mikoto's back.

He held up two appeasing palms in their general direction. "Alright alright, I'll change," he said, turning and making his way back down the hall, muttering under his breath about ritualistic sacrifices to the mom-gods.

Mikoto turned her rueful smile on Sakura. "I apologize for my son's rudeness, dear —"

Sakura waved a hand, laughing awkwardly. "Please don't trouble yourself, okaa-san, he's my teammate. I know him only too well."

A flicker of something unidentifiable passed over Mikoto's face at that. She offered a cryptic 'hnn,' as they walked down the hall towards the dining room together, Sakura fighting the mysterious urge to kick herself the whole way.

When Itachi appeared at the bottom of the stairs, Sakura's body sagged, feet automatically carrying her across the small dining space towards him.

"Hi," she said, unable to hide her relief, grateful her back was to Mikoto.

"Hello," he returned evenly, lips curling up at the corner in what she suspected was unjustified amusement at her discomfort. His eyes flickered over her shoulder towards his mother, lingering conspicuously in the entryway. "We'll be upstairs in my room until dinner, kaa-san. Please let us know when it's ready."

"Less than five minutes!" she called pointedly after their retreating forms, frown unseen.

Itachi closed the door to his room behind them, leaving it open just a crack. Sakura collapsed onto his futon in a grateful heap, not as mindful of wrinkling her dress as she should've been. He sat down beside her, shoulders relaxed and arms crossed, studying her out of the corner of his eye.

"She was giving you a hard time again." It wasn't a question.

The kunoichi shook her head so fast strands of pink fell out of place of her perfectly coiffed bun. "No," she lied, embarrassed at how easily he'd read her.

Itachi frowned. "Sakura, you shouldn't seek her approval so much. She loves you, it's just that she —"

"Please don't explain, Itachi. It's fine." When he continued to look skeptical, she added, "It takes a lot more than that to get under my skin. Really."

He looked away uncomfortably. "Sakura —"

She poked him gently in the ribs, earning herself that trademark unimpressed Uchiha look. That look always got a chuckle out of her. "Hey, don't start, now. Let's just have a nice dinner, okay? I think I smell okonomiyaki. Your mom's is the best." She grinned.

Itachi just looked at her in silence, head canted slightly to the left, dark eyes pinning green ones in place. He suddenly leaned closer, mouth opening to speak when an impeccably timed voice cut through the silence from below.

"Dinner!"

Itachi sighed, standing. Sakura followed suit, brushing imaginary dust off her dress. She had her hand on the doorframe, about to the lead the way out of the small bedroom when a warm palm landed on her shoulder.

"Wait."

She froze as movement stirred the air around her neck. He collected the loose strands of pink and tucked them back into the bun, taking care to avoid brushing her skin with his fingers. When she turned her head, his face was closer than she expected.

She flushed. "I thought you said her opinion didn't matter?" she mumbled, hesitating foot unsure whether to step back or not.

Itachi blinked. "I never said that."

She shifted uncomfortably, tearing her eyes from his. "Ah. Well —"

"Dinner!"

The insistent call broke them out of their bubble. Sakura remembered herself and spun, exiting the room quickly. She descended the stairs, Itachi following, keeping her eyes down to evade the inevitable scrutiny. They sat next to each other at the table as usual, but whether it was because they wanted to be close or because they wanted to avoid eye contact with the other was unclear.

She sighed into her food, wondering why she continued to show up to these family dinners when they'd become so awkward. But it was hard to kill persistent hope that things might return to the way they used to be, when she fit into this formal and traditional family so easily, if not quite naturally.

Fugaku led a reserved discussion of the most recent Uchiha jutsu developments, which was par for the course. Though outsiders were normally not privy to such information, two-thirds of her teammates were Uchiha, and she'd been hanging about the clan her whole life. She'd find out what the new ones were sooner or later once the developments were put into practice.

That didn't mean she knew any serious clan secrets. At least not officially. From what she could tell, the clan was terribly displeased with the rather significant amount of Uchiha jutsu she knew already. She had to constantly be careful to downplay her knowledge around any members, but her name still came up at meetings occasionally in spite of her best efforts. If they had any inkling how much she actually knew...well, it was Itachi who would be up to his neck in it.

It only added insult to injury that Naruto, as the Hokage's son, had no such pretense to keep up. Powerful clans only respected those from powerful families, as always. She took an aggressive bite of okonomiyaki, yanked from her thoughts by Itachi's quiet voice.

"In my opinion," he began carefully, "the clan relies too much on fire jutsu to begin with. It would be wisest to branch out."

Sakura raised a brow when Fugaku merely responded with a noncommittal 'hnn.' For as long as she could remember the man had taken any suggestions from Itachi very seriously, requesting details that often led to long discussions, which would then inevitably be repeated at clan meetings — usually to a very receptive audience. But lately…

"What do you think, Sasuke?"

All eyes were riveted on the younger son. Sasuke's chewing slowed thoughtfully. He took a moment to pause and swallow before speaking.

"I agree with nii-san."

Fugaku clucked his tongue under his breath. "You should make more of an effort to think independently. Don't just agree with your brother."

Sasuke flushed. "I only agree because he's right. He usually is. Our offensive jutsu utilize our genetic gifts well, but they're too predictable. We could use our reputation to our advantage, however, if we broadened our repertoire in unexpected directions."

Fugaku nodded once.

"And I'm not going to disagree with someone who speaks the truth just for the sake of appearing original, either," Sasuke tacked on, still a bit miffed.

Fugaku's stony face almost cracked into a smile. Sasuke caught the expression out of the corner of his eye and looked vaguely pleased with himself.

Itachi took a perfectly indifferent bite of okonomiyaki.

Mikoto cleared her throat delicately, changing the subject. "I for one am looking forward to the upcoming spring festival. The forecaster expects the cherry blossoms will be unusually spectacular this year."

"Akane hopes they'll come early. For good luck," Sasuke responded, happy with the topic change.

Mikoto flashed him a beatific grin. "So you're escorting Akane-san to the festival then?"

Sasuke's ears tinged pink. He stuffed some pancake into his mouth quickly. "Of course. Who else would I take?"

"She's such a nice young lady," Mikoto continued happily. "You know, her mother was my —"

"Favorite cousin growing up. Yes, kaa-san, you may have mentioned that once or twice." He chuckled.

"You should bring her over for dinner sometime."

He snorted. "So you can be hard on her like you are Sakura? I'd like to see her again you know."

Mikoto was affronted. "I'm not hard on you, Sakura-chan, am I dear?"

"Don't call her that."

"Of course not!" Sakura said hurriedly. She shot Sasuke a deadly glare the second his mother's eyes returned to her plate.

"What about you, Itachi? Are you taking anyone special?" Mikoto prodded, too casually. Itachi and Sakura's eyes met for an instant before the they both looked away like fugitives.

"No one special," Itachi answered, taking a slow, deliberate bite. "Since Sakura expects her...plans...will fall through, I thought we should go together again this year."

Mikoto mouth tightened around the corners. Sakura had to force herself to finish chewing, appetite suddenly evaporated.

"Don't you think," Mikoto began carefully, "you should consider escorting a girl instead of your teammate?"

Itachi's silence was as loud as Sakura's face was red. It was Sasuke who finally broke through the awkward moment. "Sakura is a girl."

Fugaku took a sip of water. "You know exactly what your mother means. A marriagble girl."

Itachi's chopsticks stilled halfway to his mouth. The inevitability of what was coming next hung heavy in the air like gravity.

"An Uchiha."

Sakura's food slid down the wrong pipe. She coughed, Itachi dropping his chopsticks at once to pat her on the back. Sakura caught the flash of concern on Mikoto's face at the intimate gesture and swerved out of reach, pushing her chair back with a screech to stand.

"I am so sorry," she mumbled, coughs subsiding. She threw her napkin and chopsticks down on her plate unceremoniously. "I just remembered a very important appointment. Please forgive me."

"Sakura," Itachi began, jumping to his feet and moving to go after her. His father's voice froze him in his tracks.

"Don't. It's easier for everyone, this way."

The sound of the front door swinging shut seemed to reverberate in Itachi's bones. He exchanged a silent glance with Sasuke, who got up and went after her.

Itachi leveled a look at his parents that would have put the fear of God into lesser mortals.

"I fail to understand," he began, voice low and steady, "why Sakura's name always comes up in conjunction with talk of suitable and unsuitable brides."

His parents glanced at each other, saying nothing. Itachi's cheek twitched.

"I shouldn't have to explain that our relationship is strictly platonic, of course. She is my valued teammate and comrade. She was my student, and I've known her since she was a child. Anything other than a professional relationship would be unspeakably inappropriate, to say nothing of her marked unavailability."

"Even as her jounin sensei, you were barely out of childhood yourself," Mikoto pointed out.

"Now son, no one meant to imply —" Fugaku began at the same time.

"Do not patronize me, father. I am well aware of the hyperactive imaginings of prying villagers."

"Well so is the clan. They have ears. Maybe if you spent more time actually looking for a wife —"

"Let's not pretend this is about my marriage issues. We've certainly been over that topic before." Mikoto opened her mouth to object, but Itachi continued on, words too long repressed spilling forth unchecked. "This is about Sakura. She's been part of this family since her own was stolen from her, yet all you do lately is insist on talking about the clan and clan business and family around her even though you know how difficult that must for her to hear. If I didn't know better I'd say you were purposefully driving her a—"

"Watch your tone," Fugaku growled.

Itachi's jaw snapped shut, but the coal in his eyes burned slowly.

"Sakura is like family, and we've cared for her like our own, but she is not an Uchiha. Your failure to remember that fact already cost you your chance as successor, how much more are you willing to sacrifice needlessly? Do you plan to shame the whole family along with yourself? Will you ruin your brother's chances too for the sake of coddling this grown woman who no longer needs you that way?"

Itachi wore the expression of one who'd been unexpectedly backhanded. "My own personal choices —"

"Reflect on all of us in the eyes of your elders. Including Sasuke."

He opened his mouth, hesitated, and snapped it shut. "Excuse me," he managed, holding his composure together long enough to get upstairs and lock his door.

Itachi never paced, no matter how agitated. he was type to get stiller and quieter, the more serious the emotion. He sat on his futon, still as standing water, and concentrated on his breathing. Thinking would accomplish nothing right now. Waiting, however, was something he could do.

He didn't have to wait long. Twenty minutes had passed when a crow materialized in a puff of smoke. It perched on his shoulder, eyeing him sideways with intelligent black pupils.

"Yes?"

"Message from Hawk."

"Go ahead."

"Did my best. She's fine, you worry too much. On my way home now. Message end."

Itachi dismissed the summon with a hand sign, but his mouth remained a line of tension unable to relax until the inevitable next crow appeared. The minutes crawled by slowly, stretching Itachi's impressive patience. Finally, a flurry of jet feathers popped into existence on the floor to stare up at him with uncannily familiar green eyes.

"Message from Wolf."

"Proceed."

"Everything is fine, quit sending your brother to babysit. Heading to usual spot. Do not follow. And stop worrying, I can hear your thoughts from here. Message end."

Itachi nodded, dismissing the summon with a hand sign. He sat down on his futon and put his head in his hand.

Uchiha Itachi was not one to take orders from his subordinates, but he would comply with all but the last request in her case. That was simply asking too much.

He laid back but didn't bother to close his eyes. Sleep would elude him tonight, and Itachi was not fool enough to pursue the impossible.

\- o -

Sakura stared at the broad expanse of the heavens stretching out below her. Konoha's inverted night lights twinkled over her head. She sat upside-down, clinging to the underside of the Yondaime's chin like a pimple.

The village pimple. Now that was a melodramatic thought.

Even if she didn't see herself that way, and her team certainly didn't see her that way, the rest of the village was a different story. Usually their opinions mattered little, but every so often a situation would arise like tonight's, where they really did.

Orphans just didn't fit into a village ruled by clan pride and genetic tradition.

A burst of bright light caught Sakura's attention. She watched the first meteor shower of the season pass by under her toes, shooting stars seeming to bizarrely fall upwards. She idly wished she were among them, soaring through the spaces between them far away from here. The stars had no inkling of how alone they really were, separated from each other by such distance. That yawning blackness was their whole world, and they were neither better nor worse for it.

She watched one meteor in particular growing larger and larger, and abruptly thought of her bloodline limit. It seemed an odd sort of karmic coincidence that the Torikae was made specifically to transport things to and from the unknown.

What a shame it wasn't meant for use on people.

Or that's what her mother always told her at least. But her mother was long dead, and Sakura didn't remember her as well as she used to.

That shooting star grew brighter, almost outshining the light from the oddly full moon. It looked too close tonight, hovering below her right foot, like she could reach out and touch it with her toes. Sakura threw caution to the wind.

She closed her eyes, letting her chakra circulate through her system in reverse. Freckles crisscrossed her body, softly glowing constellations on her skin. The empty circle of the Haruno crest glowed brightest of all, shining from the center of her forehead beneath suddenly snow-white bangs. For the first time, Sakura directed her chakra to herself. She was concentrating so hard she almost failed to notice the light piercing her closed lids.

Almost.

Her lashes fluttered open just in time to see it, looming up from the darkness of the night sky beneath her upside-down toes, impossibly huge and blindingly bright —

And that was when the falling star landed on Sakura's head.


	3. Comfortably Numb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reposted here from ffnet a full two years after I posted it over there. I'm the worst. :/

**Chapter 3: Comfortably Numb**

_**[Canon-Saku. AU-verse]** _

\- o -

_Tick, tock._

Awareness teased her senses.

_Tick, tock._

Softness. Warmth. A stranger's scent. She was in someone else's bed.

_Tick, tock._

Sakura's eyelids flew open as her feet tangled in the sheets, body flipping onto the tatami floor with a thud. The impact pushed the breath from her lungs, but she recovered with a wince. Glancing quickly about the dark bedroom to ensure she was alone (and silently thanking kami no one saw that), she peeled herself off the mat and eased her injured limbs back into the futon...the futon whose owner she couldn't begin to guess the identity of.

With a sigh she sank back into the pillow. She was somehow too exhausted to even care whose head normally rested here. She had no way of knowing whether this bed, or anything else, was even real.

Several minutes passed with her gaze blurring in and out of focus, eyelids drooping as she fought off sleep. Could fatigue be a physiological reaction to her trauma? Her body's way of trying to protect her sanity from the impossible circumstances of her current reality? Perhaps she shouldn't fight it off in that case...sleep was so appealing. If only she could go to sleep forever, and not have to deal with all  _this stuff_  anymore. She could close her eyes and just drift into oblivion...

Indeed she might have done just that, if not for the ripple of shadow.

Sakura shrieked and rolled out of bed again. Itachi raised an eyebrow half-hidden in darkness.

"Why are you screaming?"

"Seriously?"

The eyes just blinked at her.

Sakura seethed. "I was sleeping! That is - you are -  _yikes,_  okay?! _"_

Itachi eyed her sideways. "You didn't realize I was here?" Something about his tone suggested  _she_ was the idiot.

Sakura's eyes widened, but she sideswiped the demeaning (if unfortunately accurate) observation. "A person has a right to expect some privacy in their room."

Itachi's eyebrow climbed higher across his stony face. "This is  _my_  bedroom."

She sucked in a breath and considered leaping away from the blanket dramatically, but thought better of it.

"Regardless, I was sleeping in it," she insisted, red-faced. "And seriously,  _who_ would be okay with someone watching them like that?"

The line of his mouth was firm. "Sakura."

She exploded. "First of all,  _I_  am Sakura! I don't know any other Sakuras, have never met one, don't expect to. So for all intents and purposes, to me, I am the only Sakura that has ever existed, and I wish you would try to be more understanding of that, you….. _jerk."_

Itachi blinked at her like he'd never heard the word before. Perhaps he hadn't. At least not applied to himself.

Sakura blustered onward, too angry to be properly terrified: "Secondly, this is probably none of my business, but because I can't be  _completely_ sure of that, I have to ask...what the hell is up with you two?"

Finally, a flicker. He pulled his chin in just a fraction of an inch, but it was enough of a response that she knew she'd hit home with something. "Pardon?"

"Oh come on. She...whoever...other Sakura...is okay with you sitting in the room with her while she sleeps?  _You_ , Uchiha Itachi, are so concerned for her that you're acting all weirdly protective of  _me,_  who is technically a  _complete stranger_   _to you?_ And you expect me to believe there's nothing odd going on between you and...her?"

Privately, Sakura thought she did an admirable job of articulating the question, given it was about a sketchy relationship between Itachi and someone who is ostensibly herself.

Itachi's eyes were flat as his voice. "Why imply something when you can state it outright."

Her expression darkened. "Fine. I thought you were her jounin sensei, you irresponsible, predatory p —"

The slap was so fast Sakura didn't feel the sting on her cheek until he'd stepped back. He pulled his hand back quickly, holding his wrist a few inches away from his side as if he weren't quite sure what to do with it.

He watched the pink mark blossom across her face in complete stillness. Sakura couldn't tell if he was even breathing.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again.

He didn't know what to say either. They stood staring at each other, immobile, for a long moment. Slowly, she brought her fingers up to touch her skin. It was tender.

Itachi turned his face away.

He was gone the next instant, leaving a shell-shocked Sakura to figure out the way to the bathroom on her own.

\- o -

"So," Sakura began uncertainly, jumping at the sound of her own voice echoing off the blank walls. "Why are we in the psych ward?"

It must have been one of the few area of Konoha's medical complex that she didn't know like the back of her hand. The glossy white tiles extended onward for what seemed like miles, rows of indistinguishable doors surrounding them on both sides of the arched hallway. Sakura was impressed with how cleanly modern a place designed for the insane could be. If they were thinking of locking her in here, she could certainly do worse for herself.

The thought almost made her laugh aloud. She resisted, lest it come true.

Itachi didn't even spare her a glance. The soft tread of his sandals set her on edge. Just as she began to worry she was developing a nervous tic in her left eye, he turned abruptly into an unnumbered door. It was indistinguishable from the others, but apparently not to him.

It swung open on soundness hinges to reveal a small office, furnished entirely in whites and creams. A desk of glass occupied the closest wall, naked apart from a manila folder and pen. Snowy carpeting replaced the tiled floor. Across the room a sofa beckoned from beneath a tall, narrow window. Outside was a tiny, fenced-in bamboo garden, still wet as if from rain. A porcelain mug steamed from a low coffee table, also made of glass.

Rising from his seat at the desk, a white-coated figure spun to greet them.

"Good afternoon, Haruno-san. Uchiha-san."

His middle-aged face was handsome enough, the beginnings of laugh lines forming around his eyes, that she would never have recognized him - if not for the nearly-imperceptible crookedness of his stance, which spoke of an old hip injury. Neither were there any bandages on his unscarred face to speak of. Sakura's palms sweated.

"Good afternoon, Danzou-dono," Itachi returned politely.

"Danzou...Shimura Danzou?" The words stuck in her throat like syrup. She knew the answer full well but required verbal confirmation nonetheless.

Danzou's mild expression grew curious. He nodded to himself, glancing at some notes on his clipboard. "Yes, the Hokage said...no trouble, no trouble, please have a seat, Haruno-san. I am Shimura Danzou, and before you ask, yes, you are indeed in the right place." He didn't quite smile, but his face was open. He gestured to the couch.

To Sakura's credit, she did not immediately bolt from the room (though Itachi's conspicuous presence in the doorway may have contributed to that decision). Instead, she did the mental math. All the inviting appearances in the world couldn't convince her that Danzou was a nice guy in  _any_ version of reality, no matter how different. Yet, did she really have a choice but to play along with whatever they had planned? If things started to get weird, could she use her abilities to get the jump on them and escape? The other Sakura seemed to have different techniques, given how her own surprised Itachi earlier, but it was a long shot. Even with this slight advantage of unpredictability, could she reasonably expect to catch him off guard twice? And that's to say nothing of his formidable backup, nor of the fact that perhaps  _they_  possess techniques that are equally unfamiliar to  _her..._ But if she sat here twiddling her thumbs, alone in a room with both of them, why not just serve herself up on a platter?

She really wished there was another exit besides the single, obvious window.

As if sensing her internal fight-or-flight battle, Danzou nodded to the mug. "Tea. It's mint."

The uncomplicated words jerked her back to reality. Sakura wasn't sure if she was supposed to be happy he'd (coincidentally?) picked her favorite, or freaked out (were "Other Sakura's" beverage preferences in that file somewhere? And were they actually  _the same_  as hers?).

She tore her gaze from the mug of unknown contents to offer Danzou her best  _do you think I'm fucking stupid?_ expression. He didn't even blink. In fact, his indifference made her seethe. What a position to be in. She had no power here, with Danzou before her and Itachi at her back. Choosing to cooperate was no choice at all.

With an abrupt huff, she marched across the room, snatched up the mug and plopped onto the couch. Staring Danzou down, she raised it and took a defiant sip, prepared to accept drugs, poison, whatever.

Alas, it was mint tea. Pretty good mint tea, actually.

Her shoulders did not relax, but she exhaled into the hot drink, eyes flitting back and forth between the two men. She finished her sip and licked her lips, still glowering.

"So is either of you ever going to explain what I'm doing here?"

Danzou sank into his seat at the desk, crossing one ankle over his knee and leaning back.

"We've had regular visits for most of your life, Haruno-san. You come every other month. I run some tests and ask you a few questions, verify your well-being and note any changes. All information gets added to your file, which you have the right to view at any time, and is submitted to the Hokage's office every 6 months for review and archiving. Transparency is part of our duty to the village, so I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about what we do here. Fire away."

Sakura tried to hide her surprise at his candor. He was offering her free access to information, which was obviously too good to be true. Itachi had been neither forthcoming with information, nor the slightest bit helpful with anything, really.

Her eyes narrowed. " _Myself_  I can understand, but what was wrong with  _her_?"

His head tilted. "With whom?"

She could hear the crazy in her next words before she said them: "Other Sakura. Your Sakura."

Danzou almost nodded, but caught himself midway. He seemed fleetingly puzzled. "Oh. Well, nothing, to my knowledge. Why would you assume there was something wrong with her?"

She stared back archly, wondering if it was a trick question. "Because there's usually something wrong with mental patients? That's, uh, why they're here?"

Now it was Danzou's turn to arch a brow. He glanced up at Itachi, who was still lingering uncomfortably in the doorway.

"You told her this was a - ?"

"Of course not."

After a long, rather pointed pause, Danzou turned back to Sakura. "Perhaps you would be more at ease with him gone?" He sounded almost...irritated. Awed, Sakura wondered if  _Shimura Danzou_ could really be irritated with  _Uchiha Itachi_. What bad joke of a universe was this?

Her uncertainty must have flashed across her face, because Danzou nodded once. "Leave us."

Like smoke caught in a breeze, Itachi was gone.

Nonsensically, Sakura's stomach bottomed out. Danzou leaned back in his chair and looked at her squarely.

"Haruno-san, this is not a psychiatric ward. We are the Biogenetic Engineering and Research Institute of Konoha - a specialist laboratory focused on clan genealogy and bloodline limits. Organizations like ours have been instrumental in cultivating, understanding, and protecting the bloodlines of the clans that have driven Konoha's success for centuries. BERI's reputation is world-class, and it is entirely thanks to the talent and cooperation of citizens like yourself."

Sakura was admittedly a bit speechless. The seriousness of his face coupled with the grandiosity of his words - she wasn't sure how to take it. Few had ever looked at her with such respect, even during the height of her heroism during the war. And this was Danzou, a man who - in her world - was entirely motivated by his will for Konoha's success, even to the point of twisting his own morality. An involuntary blush crept up her neck.

"I am not one of your Konoha's citizens," she insisted, uncomfortable. "There's nothing special about my blood."

His cheek lifted. "That's my job to determine."

Sakura put down her mug. The porcelain thudded dully against the glass. "What are you planning to do?"

He flipped a page on his clipboard before answering. "The first step is to verify whether your body is in fact the same one that's been in and out of this office for the last seventeen years, and whether your abilities are intact. Then we can work on figuring out where your consciousness, body, or both have come from. And how."

If only it were that easy. He spoke about it so logically that Sakura kind of wanted to slap him. (But really, there'd been far too much of that kind of thing going on today already.)

"Okay, so what do  _I_ have to do?" She was still waiting for the news that she'd be subjected to a battery of increasingly painful and humiliating medical tests, up to and probably culminating in her death.

Perplexingly, Danzou seemed amused by her willfulness. "You don't  _have_  to do anything. No one here is in the business of forcing cooperation from our own citizens - and may I remind you, legally speaking, you  _are_  still a citizen here until circumstances prove otherwise - and thus are entitled to the full benefits and protections of Konoha citizenship therein. Whether you return any loyalty to us or not is beside the point, so I won't bother emphasizing what an invaluable service to the village your assistance would be."

Blatant manipulation aside, Sakura heard the contradiction in his pause. "But?"

Danzou almost smiled. "But, you should note that without your help we cannot possibly uncover the truth behind the recent changes to your...ah...existence. It's probably in your best interest to cooperate, but you're welcome to decline and handle your problems however you see fit."

Sakura hid her scowl. The words were so reasonable on the surface, but she disliked the way they made argument impossible. "I notice you still haven't told me what 'cooperation' entails."

He flipped another page on the clipboard and offered a half-shrug. "We'd like you to answer a few basic questions. Perform a few chakra exercises. We'll also need some non-invasive blood and tissue samples, and a brain scan."

She frowned. They were pretty much the same mundane tests that  _Sakura_  would perform if she'd found herself in Danzou's shoes.

He quirked a brow. "Were you expecting something more dramatic?"

She glared to hide her blush. "Fine. Just don't let it take all day."

"Wonderful," he said, finally smiling. He swiveled in his chair to grab the chart and opened it. "We won't waste any time then. First off: what is your name?"

She couldn't resist rolling her eyes. His pen moved when her eyeballs did - she wondered if he'd jotted down the motion. "Sakura. Haruno Sakura."

"And your age?"

"Seventeen."

"Blood type?"

"O negative."

He continued with the most basic, standard medical questionnaire Sakura had ever been on the receiving end of. She stopped thinking and just spit out answer after answer.

"And what was your mother's name?"

"Was?" Sakura asked without thinking. His pen stopped. She corrected pointedly: "Her name  _is_ Haruno Mebuki."

Danzou continued his inquisition without pause, pen resuming its incessant scratching. "And your boyfriend's name?"

Her jaw fell open. "My what?"

"Your boyfriend's name," he repeated, still writing.

"I don't have one," she said, a bit flabbergasted.

"And your occupation?"

"Medic-nin."

"Favorite restaurant?"

"Ichiraku," she replied automatically. It wasn't strictly true, but she knew there was only a soba shop in its place here and wanted to test his reaction. She got nothing, of course.

"And who is Hatake Kakashi?"

Now she glared in full. "My jounin sensei. A gifted ninja and an asset to Konoha. He's a genuinely good person and like family to me."

"And what is your age?"

"Didn't you already ask me that?"

Danzou said nothing for a time, pen roving over the last few lines. Finally Sakura spoke up.

"Well?"

He put the pen down and sat back to look at her. "All finished with questioning. We have valuable information. Thank you."

She brushed off his gratitude like an unwanted hand on her shoulder. "Valuable in what way?"

"I'm a chakra researcher, not a medical specialist, so I'll have to go over the details with my partner to be conclusive. However, we can already rule out both anterograde and retrograde amnesia. Neither do you have transient global amnesia. In fact, you don't appear to be suffering from ordinary memory loss at all."

Once again Sakura's eyeballs took a tour of the back of her lids. "I could have told you that."

"And I should simply have believed you without evidence?"

She shrugged, unwilling to let herself express agreement with Danzou even on a point so obvious.

"Rather," he continued unperturbed, "it seems the memories we know to be fact are now intermingled with memories we do not recognize - ones that should be impossible. To complicate the matter, your recall of them is just as quick and as certain as the true memories. Many of your basic tastes remain the same. Other key personality details too, but much is completely foreign. This  _may_  be evidence that your consciousness or personality has been altered in some way we don't currently understand. However, it's far too early to deduce your bloodline limit was involved."

Sakura sighed. "I don't  _have—"_

"Yes, yes, so you say. But again, you must understand the need to test everything for ourselves. Especially if you're a medic-nin, as you claim."

Her eyebrows hit her hairline with a thunk. "As I  _claim?"_

He held up pacifying hands. "Don't get angry. Show, don't tell."

She looked around the empty room. "Show how?"

Danzou picked up his pen and buried it in his thigh.

Sakura's eyes bulged. She clambered backward on the couch instinctively, trying to put some distance between them. This man was obviously bonkers, even for Danzou.

Blood pulsated out of the wound, staining his clothes and ruining the white carpet. He unceremoniously yanked the pen out, making the gushing exponentially worse.

"Don't do that, you idiot! You probably hit your femoral, you should have left it in!"

To her shock, he casually removed a spare pen from his coat and jotted something down on the clipboard. Blood continued to spurt from his leg almost comically, like a small red geyser.

Sakura gaped. "If you don't do something you'll bleed out in minutes, you fucking lunatic!"

"Not if you heal it." He paused his scribbling to look at her.

She balked. This was the craziest, most unethical way she could imagine of coercing a subject into performing a task, but obviously she wasn't going to let somebody bleed out while locked in a room together. How the hell would she explain the body to whoever showed up to fetch her?

"You could have asked me to heal a paper cut," she barked. Nevertheless, she hastily made her way over. She had to rip a strip of fabric from his coat (damned if she was ruining her  _own_  clothes for this nonsense) to staunch the bleeding while she worked. Tying it expertly in seconds, she knelt and called chakra to her palms.

Barely a trickle responded.

She gaped at her own hands, horrified. She pulled harder. The chakra was coming, but instead of flowing freely like water, it was thick and sluggish as honey. She felt a resistance that was familiar, but from long ago - similar to when she was first opening up her chakra highways to be used in this way as a new apprentice. The pressure was painful, but she knew exactly what she needed her body to do. She pressed herself for more. She could feel her pathways reacting minutely, but it was useless - far too little and infinitely too slow to save anyone. She needed more  _now_  or she was going to have a corpse on her hands.

She sat up, backtracking, brain flipping through different possibilities quickly. She shuffled through her knowledge of an entire body's chakra system - not just her own, centered around her extremities as it was. She closed her eyes and felt around -  _all_ the way around. The pores of her skin grew alive with her awareness. In a moment, she knew.

There, in the middle of her forehead. Chakra flowed most freely there.

She didn't have time to question the surprising - or perhaps not - location. Feeling like an idiot and thoroughly grossed out by the idea, she pressed her forehead to Danzou's open wound.

It was awkward and sloppy, and it took much longer than it should have for a relatively straightforward injury, but it worked. She could strain and gather just enough chakra to stop the gush of blood.

Afterward, she collapsed onto the couch, sweating and bewildered. She should have asked the patient how he was feeling to verify, but instead all that came out of her mouth was:

" _What the hell happened to my chakra?"_

Danzou looked at her in genuine surprise before resuming more intense scribbling on the clipboard. "That is my question. You've never been able to do anything like that before….curious, your chosen point of contact, too..."

Sakura sat back in stunned silence, just trying to absorb the fact that her primary weapon - the very skill that defined her, her precise control of chakra through her hands - appeared to be nearly useless now. Could she fight? She managed to escape Itachi's grip with a small chakra burst from her wrist earlier, but was that  _the most_ she could do? If she was seriously injured, would she even be able to save herself?

Before Sakura's wild thoughts had the chance to develop into true panic, Danzou flicked his wrist and a bluebird popped into existence.

"The Chief Medical Examiner," he told it. The bird disappeared, and Danzou turned back to Sakura. "You've done an excellent job so far, and have provided quite useful information. On behalf of BERI I would like to personally thank you."

Sakura found she didn't have much to say to a man crazy enough to literally stab himself with a pen. For science. Some small part of her was secretly hoping that maybe, just maybe, one thing in this bizarre universe was similar to her own. Maybe this Chief Medical Examiner would be someone familiar….very familiar. A tendril of hope stirred in her belly.

Sensing her trepidation, Danzou cleared his throat delicately. "I should apologize for putting you through that. To be absolutely certain you couldn't perform medical jutsu we had to test you under a high pressure situation. Or at least a situation you  _believed_  to be high pressure. I was never in any real danger with our Examiner right next door, of course...ah, speak of the devil."

With the click of a doorknob, a second white-coated figure appeared alongside the bird summon - and the figure was indeed familiar. Sakura's jaw fell open.

"Haruno-san, though you have technically met, allow me to introduce the real mastermind behind our operation: Orochimaru-san."

The blood froze in her veins first, only to be replaced by coursing heat. Then came the wave of nausea. There was a brief moment when Sakura wasn't sure what her own body would do - vomit? Attack? Run? Cry? Endless possibilities.

Then, something in the back of Sakura's brain creaked to a stop, sputtered once, and died. It was the part of herself that normally chose between "fight" or "flight" in life-threatening situations. It had been worked to death, you see, at the worst possible moment. She stood, slack-jawed, unable to even muster up a quickened pulse or some sweat.

The snake-nin offered a smirk that almost qualified as a smile. "Pleasure. I assume you're ready for the samples now, Danzou-san?"

"Would you mind assessing my injury, first? For protocol's sake."

Orochimaru took a cursory glance at Danzou's bloodied leg. His lip curled. "Healed, but amateurish."

His snakelike eyes lifted. "She did this?"

Danzou nodded.

The snake-nin hummed under his breath, tongue flicking out to wet his lips. "Interesting." He snapped on a pair of rubber gloves, opening his supply kit with a pop. "This will only take a few minutes, Haruno-san."

Sakura could not lift so much as a finger in protest. Limply, she complied in a daze, offering her arm to be poked, her thigh prodded, her teeth scraped. What else could she do? All her effort was focused on just maintaining a tenuous grasp of reality. The laughable window escape plan never even crossed her mind.

After the prodding, they whisked her off to a room of medical equipment that was far more advanced than anything  _her_  hospital had to offer. She sat there dazed as they performed test after test. Eventually she even stopped keeping track of what each softly whirring machine was, or trying to figure out what they were measuring. At one point they had her grab two handles on a particularly tall machine; she yelped in shock at the alien feeling of her chakra forcibly circulating through her system in reverse, but was even more surprised that the sensation wasn't painful. She had to perform several chakra exercises, confirming the uncomfortable truth that although she  _possessed_  the normal amount of chakra she's had since birth - possibly more, actually, if her glimpses at various charts were anything to go by - she couldn't  _access_ it through her regular techniques at all.

Finally, they deposited her back into the original room. Sakura was actually grateful for the couch. Orochimaru said a very perfunctory goodbye and bustled off, leaving an impressive stack of paperwork on the glass desk. She felt much more normal the second the door closed behind him.

Danzou thumbed through the stack briefly. "Thank you again for your cooperation, Haruno-san, that's plenty of testing for today."

_For today._ Sakura groaned, sinking into the couch further.

"This is all in your chart, but based on DNA sampling, chemical and hormonal screening, and even carbon dating of your tooth enamel, we've been able to conclude that this is, without question, Haruno Sakura's true body. Meaning, the same body that has been working with our laboratory for the past seventeen years."

Sakura's grip tightened. Those were scientifically rigorous tests...in her world. "I want to see for myself."

"Of course," he replied, handing over the thick file. Sakura skimmed it, recognizing some of the charts from her more advanced biomedical training with Tsunade. It had been a long time since she studied such theoretical literature, however. Many parts were incomprehensible to her, but she was aided by thick annotations and multiple citations. Everything seemed in order - if procedures were properly followed, it would be foolish to ignore such numbers.

She blinked, trying to absorb the information. Could this familiar body actually NOT belong to her? Wasn't this the skin she'd been born in? Catching sight of her reflection in the tall window, she absurdly began to wonder whose face she was really seeing in the glare of the glass.

Lost in thought, she jumped when Danzou continued. "Your brainwave patterns are inconclusive. As your aptitude tests indicate you must already know, brainwaves patterns are not a definitive way of establishing identity." Sakura nodded tersely, acknowledging the obvious. "Yours are similar enough to our records that you may be in possession of the same mind, but different enough that we cannot say. What's odd is that - despite no evidence of memory loss (at least not in the usual sense) - you are exhibiting signs of altered consciousness. Especially given the years of advanced medical knowledge you seem to have acquired overnight. We can conclude that  _something_ unusual happened to your mind."

Sakura couldn't do much but stare and wait for him to continue. He did.

"Furthermore, although your chakra is outwardly normal, you appear to have lost the ability to use your standard ninjutsu techniques in addition to your bloodline limit. This is not a result of any biological changes that we can detect; mysteriously, you seem perfectly  _able_  to function normally. It's as if you've simply never been trained, or have somehow forgotten how along with other key details of your life."

Rather than argue her whole history of existence, she just asked tiredly, "I use ninjutsu?"

Danzou's brow wrinkled. "Almost exclusively. And it seems like you still  _can._  Can you think of any reason why you suddenly - for lack of a better term - won't?"

Her exhaustion was not quite severe enough to keep her lip from curling at that. "Because I  _haven't been taught any?"_

He tutted softly. "Well, you'll have to take that up with the one who taught you everything. Here he is now."

Itachi appeared in the doorway. Sakura had no idea how Danzou coordinated his summons with such dramatic flair.

"Go ahead and resume training with her, but go easy, as if you're starting over from the beginning," he ordered casually.

Itachi actually paled. "The beginning?" Sakura was surprised to hear the disturbance in his voice so plainly.

"Her years of practice may not be permanently lost, though you should prepare for that real possibility. I recommend you focus on the most familiar activities and exercises—see if stirring up muscle memory has any impact. We'll need to keep in contact. I expect to be updated on her condition daily. Try to keep her lifestyle and diet similar to before."

"Impossible. She'll never keep up that level of physical conditioning if she can't go on missions regularly, and she can't do that until she's of sound mind."

Sakura was about to open her mouth to protest such treatment - once more others were talking about her like she wasn't even in the room - when the tone of Itachi's next words caught her attention.

"What of her  _mind_ , Danzou? Her personality? How long must we...when will she remember all the things that matter most to her?"

The whole room went still and silent for a beat. Finally, Danzou coughed. He looked at Itachi slightly askance.

"I'm sorry, but it's beyond my power to say. She may never return to herself as you knew her."

The tension rippled off Itachi. "No. No, that can't be. Even if you can't diagnose her, we can take her outside the village, find specialists elsewhere -"

Danzou snorted. "Have you lost your mind? Where exactly do you plan to find anyone better equipped to handle a situation like this than BERI is? You intend to will one into existence?"

Itachi took a step back and turned his face away. "We can't know until we try. There must be other opinions. I'll contact the Yondaime and -"

Danzou forced a derisive chuckle. "Nonsense. You can deny reality all you like, but your best chances of understanding what's happened to her are here. You'd be doing both her and the village a disservice by prolonging matters in bringing her elsewhere. Her consciousness may change again; it might return to normal, or something completely different could happen while you're far from our aid."

"But -"

"I will not entertain this further. Ultimately this is Haruno-san's decision, but beware that if you try to influence her to the village's detriment, I'm in an ideal position to discover such treason one way or another. Facts are facts: her best chance is with us, but you must prepare yourself for the very real possibility that there may be no recovery for her. You cannot control this."

Something unspeakable twisted across Itachi's features. Sakura stared openly, but Danzou actually sucked in a shocked breath. He glanced about the room before addressing Itachi in a low voice.

"Uchiha-san.  _Control yourself."_

Itachi started to speak but Danzou interrupted with a whispered hiss.

"You've truly lost all sense. Think of the position you've just put me in. What if we'd had this conversation outside these walls? Or if you were talking to anyone other than myself? It's not only your life as a shinobi at stake - the village depends on your service and genetic gifts. Yet you'd jeopardize everything because of - of -  _whatever_ that was?  _The Board hears everything_."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up. She didn't think Itachi's personal relationships  _were_ the business of Danzou or any "board", but judging from Itachi's sudden pallor and stillness, he would disagree. He shut his eyes. When he opened them, his expression was closed again.

"I appreciate your candor, Danzou-dono. Of course, you're reading into things that are not there."

Danzou met Itachi's gaze. "Surely, my mistake. No need to bring this conversation up again, I trust. Ever."

Two casual gazes in Sakura's direction were not lost on her. They glanced at each other again, deciding something. For a tense moment, she wondered if she'd heard too much and they were going to take action.

But the moment passed without further comment.

She didn't have time to dwell on it as Danzou stood and bowed.

"Thank you both for your cooperation once again. Here's my contact and summon information - " He handed a thick card to Sakura; she guessed Itachi didn't need one. " - please don't hesitate to reach out to myself or my associates any time, day or night. I'll see you again next week."

He briskly strode out of the room, leaving Sakura alone with Itachi...and roughly a million questions.


	4. Mother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Lowkey updates fic for the first time in two years*
> 
> Sooo...sup? Are there any readers left? Are you all grandparents yet?
> 
> I graduated and have been writing like a madwoman. I was absolutely NOT intending to start working on this fic yet, but it somehow hit 100 reviews and I re-read it and. Well. This happened.
> 
> Funny story: I had the opportunity to take a screenwriting class in grad school and realized I had no clue how to plot a story before. This thing is essentially two stories in one, so it's a small wonder that I overwhelmed myself and had to put it on hiatus. Even so, I was not planning on returning to it until I finished another project I'm about a third of the way through (details in my profile), yet this thing prodded me first. Maybe I'll write both at once - one when I'm frustrated with the other. You may start seeing more updates for this again but they'll probably be sporadic (even continuing to write by the seat of my pants, I've gotta plan 2-4 chapters at once, you see). My other project will be written in full before *anything* is posted, in part because of this experience, oops.
> 
> Onto business: I know this story is confusing. I'm sorry. It's in its nature, to a degree, but I also enjoy challenging reads. I will be switching between canon-verse and AU-verse every chapter, and I'll continue labeling each as such in the subheadings. Hopefully that will help.
> 
> Uuuh, side note to immediately undermine that plan: we probably shouldn't call it "canon-verse" at all. Just a reminder that the "canon-verse" here, beginning in chapter one, was already a made-up postwar AU (meaning the AU-verse is technically an AU of an AU - THAT'S NOT CONFUSING AT ALL), so BOTH universes are AU, though one sticks much closer to canon than the other. Please note that I've not read the real end of the manga and don't plan to because my heart can't take it. I also haven't seen Road to Ninja or other extras (though I'm passingly familiar with parts of them), so certain aspects of the so-called canon-verse will be plenty AU in and of themselves. Please forgive me for taking liberties. I hope you like them.
> 
> Let's just have fun with this crazy thing, yeah? For your unbetaed and barely-proofread pleasure, I give you…

**Spaces Between Stars**

**Chapter Four: Mother**

**_[AU-Saku. Canon-verse]_ **

\- o -

Pale ghosts with red smiles. Familiar ghosts everywhere.

Dozens of people: Mom, Dad, aunts and uncles, her younger twin sisters Tsubaki and Ayame, dressed as they were for their sixth birthday, in bright blue with matching silver hairpieces, her baby brother wishing he had one of his own. All wearing their best clothes, even widowed Aunt Yuri and her scowling daughter, Sayaka, who was Sakura's least favorite cousin despite their closeness in age and identical pink hair...Ah, but there was her best grandparent, Jii-chan with his glasses on crooked, whispering mischief to little Haru from the branch house, who was young enough to believe him. They were all holding hands as they twirled round and round amid the colorful flashes of festival lights—and Sakura remembered it was her Age Day, and now she would officially become head of the main branch when her father grew too old…

"Sakura."

How joyful, knowing she could do her part to keep her family safe for the rest of her years...no wonder so many were here to celebrate today. The crowd spun around her, smiling, and Sakura smiled back at them. She saw the faces of her team scattered among her family—even Naruto's seriousness was softened by his grin. And the Uchiha clan was here too—there was Mikoto smiling kindly like she used to—but no, that was her own mother's face, dissolving into Mikoto's laughter, and back again. Sakura tried to track her with her eyes, but the crowd twirled faster, and faces blurred—

"Sakura!"

Then there was Itachi. His black eyes caught hers and her mouth opened to speak, but no sound came out. He smiled at her, and she had to tell him something urgent, but he was too far away. She reached for him through the inward-pressing bodies, but the laughter swelled and the singing drowned her out. He seemed content to watch her from afar despite her struggles. He didn't know, she had to tell him, but the crowd swept her from her feet and carried her away, and suddenly she realized her chattering family wasn't her family at all, but costumed strangers in elaborate masks—

" _Sakura..."_

The laughter turned malicious at the edges, and the grip on her arms tightened. Fingers dug into her elbows, buffeting her away. The anonymous crowd sneered at her when she spun out, slipped on pools of sticky red, and fell—

_Tick, tock._

Awareness teased her senses.

_Tick, tock._

Softness. Warmth. The scent of a stranger. She was in someone else's bed, her cheeks damp from tears.

_Tick, tock._

Sakura's body moved even before her eyelids flew open. She pinned a hard form to the floor beneath her, an ordinary, smallish square bedroom around her. Information flooded her senses as her fingers pressed into a jugular. Just enough to take control of the situation, but not enough to kill anyone. Yet.

In the blink of an eye she assessed the threat: shinobi, male, thirties. Konoha headband. Mussed grey hair, one eye. The bright black orb gazed up at her in shock. The air was still with anticipation for the millisecond it took her brain to make the connection between form and meaning.

Then, in spite of his missing eye and unscratched hitae-ate: recognition.

The body convulsed beneath her as its windpipe crumpled in her hand. He would have been dead within a minute if not for the sudden blow to the back of her head. It knocked her into the wall and scattered stars across her vision.

Never in a million years should she have failed to notice another presence enter the room, but the chance to destroy the man who slaughtered her family must have given her tunnel vision. She cursed her slip-up all the same, recovering her feet and wiping blood from her mouth. It left a streak of angry crimson along her forearm.  _Nothing_ could prevent her from ripping the man before her to pieces, no matter how many corpses she had to litter the ground with first.

Nothing indeed — with this singular exception.

Naruto eyed her warily from the opposite side of the room, body positioned between them, one hand on Hatake Kakashi's elbow. Helping him up. Familiar, like it had every right to be there, but protective. Protecting  _him._  From  _her_.

Her head swam. She considered multiple possibilities: she was still sleeping (no); she was under genjutsu (possibly);  _he_ was under genjutsu (possibly); she was crazy (possibly); she was injured and having sporadic brain hallucinations from a comatose state or something (possibly). Regardless, with an almost audible click, her most recent memories — Hokage monument, the shooting star, blinding light — caught up with her current situation.

She wasn't stupid. She had attempted to use a poorly-understood bloodline limit on herself without any idea what the consequences may be, and now she was in an unfamiliar place, her teammate behaving strangely, and her clan's killer inexplicably present after eight years of invisibility. The bizarre situation before her was impossible to make sense of (presuming it was actually happening at all). She needed more information.

"The hell was that, Sakura-chan?!" the blond spat just as she opened her mouth. Though her expression didn't so much as flinch, inside she gaped at the unfamiliar tone of voice (forget the ridiculous honorific). Childish, though strong, and so much  _brighter_  than what she was used to. Naruto was distinctly…different.

Blood rushed in her ears and goosebumps raised her flesh. He was different, but not  _dream-like_ different. Sakura was far too familiar with the nature of nightmares to mistake them for reality. She silently assessed his chakra circulation, but found none of the usual fluctuations indicating he was under outside control.

She had to be trapped in a particularly difficult genjutsu. She'd been handling Itachi's genjutsu since she could hold a kunai; surely she could figure this one out. She performed a series of mental tests on herself to check if she was sleeping, or in some other altered state of consciousness. She methodically ran through each in the space of another second, rerouting her chakra through her brain and triggering defensive failsafes that Itachi had set up in her head for just such an occasion. Naruto and… the other one... looked on in bewilderment. They were waiting for her to do something. Brain-damaged and hallucinating or not, she had to act. When her tests came up empty, mind (supposedly) perfectly functional, she forced a breath in through her nose, choosing to delay action until she had a better grip on what the hell was happening.

"I am… confused," she announced truthfully, careful to  _not_  address the impossible thing still recovering, hanging off Naruto's elbow.

"No kidding," came the uncharacteristic snort from the blond. "Kaka-sensei, is she normal?"

After one more convulsive hack, the grey-haired man cleared his throat and carefully lifted the hitae-ate covering his eye. The unmistakable red glow of the Sharingan swirled to life.

Sakura gasped.

"Well, Sakura has never been 'normal' by any stretch of the imagination," the man drawled, "but if you're asking if she's under genjutsu, the answer is no."

Naruto looked at Kakashi the way he habitually looked at math problems. "Wanna explain her sudden bloodlust, then, sensei?"

Kakashi blinked. "Ah...bad time of the month?"

Naruto glanced at her like he expected a stupid comment like that to set her off or something. Sakura was far more preoccupied with figuring out what the fuck was happening and how her clan's killer managed to steal an Uchiha body part. Which shouldn't be possible for  _any_ shinobi she'd ever heard of..

When the silent stand-off continued with no move from either side, Naruto quickly became agitated. "Can you at least tell us why Kakashi found you passed out at the foot of Hokage monument?"

"He found me...near Hokage monument," she repeated slowly, still only addressing Naruto. That was good—that was where her last memory ended. So she must still be in Konoha, at least. "And he brought me...where?" Though she was unwilling to take her eyes off either of them long enough to look around, she was confident she'd never been in this bedroom before.

Naruto's brows knit together. "Uh. His apartment? I know it's cleaner than usual, but you seriously don't  _recognize_ it?"

The home of a missing-nin...in Konoha. Okay then. She had no idea what was happening, but these people obviously wanted her to believe they were concerned for her—even  _that_ one. She could use that to her advantage. Lacking memories was alarming, and she was unsure whether she had any kind of extensive physical damage. Best to play along until she could escape somewhere safe to examine herself.

She shook her head as though abruptly remembering something, eyes widening in false surprise. "Oh...I hit my head. Back on Hokage monument. I must have blacked out."

Naruto went pale, but Kakashi squinted. "Hit your head on what?"

Sakura cupped her forehead in her hand. She didn't have to fake the headache, at least. "I don't remember."

Naruto and Kakashi exchanged a sideways glance. Sakura recognized the look of two people who wanted to speak privately, but couldn't.

"Let me just...go to the bathroom," she said, backing out of the doorway without turning around. She shut the door behind herself and took several noisy footsteps down the hall before silently returning to press her ear to the door. Weirdly, she couldn't quite mask her chakra fully.

To her surprise, they didn't even check to make sure she was really gone before they began talking.

"Amnesia?" Naruto speculated aloud.

A deeper voice answered. "I have no idea. We should take her to Tsunade to be sure."

Sakura frowned at that. The only Tsunade she knew of was Senju Tsunade, Dan's wife and former teammate of Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Though a respectable retired fighter, Sakura couldn't imagine what she had to do with anything.

"Definitely. But there's no way she was seriously trying to hurt you. If there was chakra in her fist I could never have pulled her off, and you would've already been dead."

Sakura's brow furrowed. They both acted like they knew her well, and were expecting not only different behavior from her, but a different kind of fighting style entirely.

Kakashi's voice was uncertain. "There wasn't chakra, no, but...she had killing intent, Naruto. I could feel it. I've never seen her like that before, not even during the war."

Sakura's eyes widened. There had been no Shinobi war for at least two hundred years. Tensions were high between Suna and Konoha as usual, sure, but  _active_ warfare? That she had participated in? Impossible. Such a scenario didn't even make sense as genjutsu. Genjutsu was for torture and manipulation, not to speculate about alternate histories. What could be the purpose of all this?  _Was_  there a purpose?

There was a long, painful silence. Naruto spoke up again. "I'm worried. I think I better go check on her."

Before he could even take a step, Sakura had slipped down the hallway and out the front door like a shadow.

-o-

Sakura kept her head down and eyes forward as she walked through the streets of Konoha, but she was able to surreptitiously memorize every detail of the layout. It was very similar to Konoha as she knew it, but with subtle changes: unfamiliar grocers where the weapons shop should be, for example, but plenty of familiar faces. She needed to be alone.

She slipped around the fence of the training fields, careful not to walk too fast or with too much intent. No one seemed to notice her. Soon enough, she was quietly edging away from the fields and into the forest to the west of the village.

Finding a well-hidden alcove, Sakura performed a quick scan to make sure she was really alone. Satisfied, she sat down and put her head in her hands to think.

Something bad had happened on the Hokage monument. Either she was attacked by a totally unheard-of bloodline limit or ninjutsu that was somehow causing all this, or it was her own fault. She briefly wondered if she could take this situation at face-value: was it because she'd used her bloodline limit? The Torikae could send objects away somewhere. To so-called "elsewheres." But the alternate universe theory was unproven; it was merely one of many, though Danzou seemed to pay it special attention. Except for that one unproven theory, nothing in her family's records indicated that the Torikae could change history, or otherwise affect reality aside from introducing something new of equivalent mass and type. Sakura would have wondered if the meteor had something to do with this disaster—the timing was suspicious—but the Haruno circle symbolized the  _moon_ , so not even that made sense. Though the moon itself had been full...so perhaps?

Could "elsewhere" be here, then? No one knew what such places were like, so it was  _possible_...but the technique wasn't supposed to be used on people, and only the most superstitious members of the clan believed it would even do anything. Sakura's family history was fuzzy, but even she knew that the clan conducted experiments on animals and humans long ago, and that nothing had come of it. They all stayed in place, unaffected, until the practice was forbidden. There were legends of  _other_  happenings, sure: Harunos disappearing forever, or strangers from other worlds joining the clan. Jii-chan used to say that was how the branch family came to be, but no one reasonable put stock in bedtime stories—especially not jii-chan's.

Sakura had done something enormously, monumentally stupid, and she must have scrambled her brains because nothing about this scenario made any sense. Perhaps the simplest explanation was that she'd actually been hit by space debris and had brain damage. Regardless, she simply couldn't come to any immediate conclusion yet.

Sakura was no medic-nin, but she gave herself a rudimentary check-up. She could count to one hundred, remember important dates, and her reflexes were fine. Her chakra system, though functional, was off. It flowed freely through her hands more than anything, almost completely absent from her forehead. Forcing it through her brain earlier had nearly been painful, and a headache lingered now. Could she even use the Torikae? Was it safe to try to use it on herself again, or would it make everything worse?

She decided to test it on a small rock. She focused on it, going still, regulating her breathing. She willed her chakra to circulate in reverse.

Nothing.

Fighting down panic, Sakura attempted a series of her favorite ninjutsu, starting with katon. A small puff of smoke answered. She ran through several others, but each felt like it was the first time she'd ever attempted it. She  _had_ chakra, and could control it, but doing so was akin to forcing herself to write with her left hand. Alien and ineffectual. Nothing was working like it should.

For the first time in a long time, Sakura felt real fear.

There was only one place she dared to go in such a vulnerable state.

-o-

Sakura stared in horror at the empty Uchiha complex. The fresh coats of paint juxtaposed with a smattering of decaying fences spoke of a recent renovation, but there were no people. No children playing in the courtyards, no adults returning with the day's shopping, no parents drilling their unruly teenagers.

The silence suffocated her. She ran through the streets toward Itachi's house, sensing a single chakra signature inside. Hope was tight in her throat as she slid open the door without knocking.

Sasuke looked up at her in surprise. "Sakura? What are you doing here?"

She stepped back unconsciously, not recognizing the wariness in his eyes. He had never once asked her that before. Like the other two, this man was a stranger.

And where was Itachi? Would he be different, too? Sakura's heart beat faster at the thought.

"S-sorry," she stammered, doing her best to hold it together. She didn't want to alert him that anything unusual was going on. "I was just looking for your brother."

Her casual tone had the complete opposite effect as intended. Sasuke gaped at her in sheer astonishment, apparently unable to speak. The tea he was in the process of pouring for himself flowed over the edge of the cup and spilled onto the table, but he didn't notice.

"Okay," she said, backing up slowly. "Uh, nevermind. I'll find him myself."

Sasuke snapped his jaw shut. "Sakura, wait—"

But she was already gone.

-o-

Sakura felt like she was going insane. She couldn't control her pulse or her racing thoughts as she barreled through the streets toward the hospital, no longer as concerned with keeping attention away from herself. Several people tried to stop her to ask what was wrong, but she ignored them and kept running.

She charged around the side of the hospital, skipping the front doors in favor of making a beeline for the back entrance that led directly to BERI.

A blank wall greeted her. Not only was there no door, the hospital building itself was about one-third smaller than it should be.

There was no BERI.

There was no one to help her.

Wild-eyed, Sakura ran around to use the front doors. She briefly considered a henge, but had no clue who to choose that would avoid suspicion. Every guess she'd made so far about what was normal for this place had been wrong. Moreover, she was becoming too panicked to keep herself subtle and safe.

The thought made her slow to a brisk walk as she entered. No one even spared her a glance. She stalked all the way to the back, not quite surprised to find that BERI's long white hallways truly weren't anywhere to be found. She took the stairwell and checked every floor, just in case.

Sakura began to pace the halls at random. She had no idea where Danzou actually lived, or Orochimaru for that matter. They probably wouldn't be who she thought they'd be, anyway. She needed a way to verify what was different and what wasn't without wandering in circles aimlessly.

Luck was on her side, as the words MEDICAL RECORDS caught her eye on a door. Glancing surreptitiously up and down the hall, Sakura jiggled the handle. Locked, of course. She tried to use earth jutsu to crumble the tumblers to dust, but only managed to rattle it a bit. Silently growling in frustration, she reached into her thigh holster for her lock pick instead.

It wasn't there. It was always there, but it wasn't there now. Fighting down amazement, Sakura patted herself down until she found a senbon hidden in her boot. It hadn't been there before.

Who the hell had dressed this body?

Getting a grip on herself, she curved the senbon's tip into a makeshift hook and went to work behind her back, blocking the view with her body. The door opened with a click and Sakura stepped inside quickly, hoping she wasn't seen.

Unfortunately, the room was already occupied. Sakura kicked herself for not checking for chakra. She really was losing her mind.

"Sakura?" A young woman with short, dark hair looked up from a filing cabinet. "What are you doing here? I assumed you were taking some time off after—" The woman cut herself off, blushing faintly. "Uh, after what happened."

Sakura restarted her heart. Did she have  _permission_  to be in here? "Aaah, yes. I am," she hedged, watching the other's reactions closely. "I just. Need something."

The woman eyed her in confusion, but there was concern underlying it. And importantly, no suspicion whatsoever. "I see. Um, I'm really sorry. About yesterday. You should know we're all rooting for you."

Sakura's eyes shifted. "I—um—thank you?"

This seemed to be the right response. The woman offered a small, sad smile. "Let me know if you need help finding anything," she added, already on her way toward the door.

"Wait," Sakura said, before she could leave. "Do you have...census records? Current ones?"

"Second cabinet on the right. Try the third drawer."

This was too good to be true. Sakura thanked the woman again before turning to yank open the correct cabinet.

An hour later, Sakura found herself sinking to the floor amid a sea of several years' worth of papers.

Danzou was dead.

Minato was dead.

Orochimaru stopped being listed many years ago.

Every Uchiha except for Sasuke was dead.

Itachi…disappeared from the records at age thirteen.

Never in Sakura's short life had she felt so alone. Not since the night her entire family was wiped out.

Fighting back shivers, she gazed up at the tiny window toward the back of the room. The sun was setting. Soon it would be dark, and she would need to find a place to sleep. Maybe if she slept, she would wake up to everything being normal again.

Or maybe, if she was lucky, she wouldn't wake up at all.

-o-

Sakura was on autopilot. Since she lacked camping equipment, she figured it was at least worth a look to see if her house was still standing before resigning herself to sleeping on the forest floor. She was too numb to feel much fear for whatever strangeness she might find there. But she could use a shower and some food, if possible. She wasn't hungry, but she needed to keep her strength up.

Sakura paused when it came into view. Aside from being obviously smaller—a single-family home instead of a sprawling complex—the lights were on.

The lights had never once been left on in the past eight years.

And there was one chakra signature inside.

Convinced that someone else lived in this unfamiliar building, Sakura approached warily to peek in the window.

She gasped, blood pressure dropping. For a moment her body threatened to pass out, foot slipping as she landed gracelessly in the hedges. She did not feel the prick of thorns drawing blood, nor the tears on her cheeks. She did not feel anything. But she clambered to her feet and looked again.

Her mother was in the kitchen, cooking.

Her hair was different, falling messily around her shoulders instead of neatly tied back. Her clothes were too casual. She wore no makeup.

But her  _face…!_

Despite the photo album, Sakura hadn't remembered what it looked it like—not really. She had forgotten the details of her own mother's living face.

Her legs gave out. Sakura threw up bile.

The noise attracted her mother's attention, who opened the curtains to find her daughter sitting in the bushes, sobbing. Alarmed, she rushed around to the front door and flung it open, flooding the porch with light and the smell of food.

"Sakura?"

Sakura couldn't speak, caught between the impulse to run from the pain and the impulse to run toward her voice. How could she have forgotten the sound of it? She sat in the hedge, waterworks doubling.

When Mebuki grabbed her arm to help her up, Sakura gasped aloud at the touch, but didn't fight it. She was ushered inside and seated on a strange couch, but still could not get a grip on herself.

Her mother disappeared for a moment, and Sakura nearly choked on her tears in panic. But Mebuki quickly returned with a tissue box, and Sakura cried twice as hard, taking big, shuddering gasps of air.

"Holy shit, Sakura, calm down or you'll faint," Mebuki admonished, sitting next to her daughter in wide-eyed alarm.

The unfamiliar swearing slowed Sakura's heaves. But she was afraid to touch her. Would she disappear like a mirage?

Her mother offered another tissue. "Is this about the hospital?"

Sakura hiccuped, confusion distracting her from hysteria. Why was everyone acting like something really bad just happened to her? It seemed to have nothing to do with the really bad thing that  _had_  just happened to her. Or did it?

"I-I-I—" she tried, breaking down again.

"Shhhh, shhh, you're okay," Mebuki said, looking unsure what to do. "I'm sorry that happened, but this is quite dramatic, even for you."

Sakura's breathing was finally slowing. She tried to blink her eyes free so she could look at her mother properly. "I-I missed you," she managed, fingers curling into the sofa.

Mebuki looked taken aback. "I, uh, missed you too."

Sakura couldn't process the uncertainty there. Not surprisingly, something was off, but her brain was thick and sluggish with emotion.

"May I...Can I have a hug?" The request came out as a whisper.

"Um, okay," Mebuki answered, shifting uncomfortably. But she leaned closer.

Sakura closed her eyes and buried her face in her mother's shoulder, tears welling again. She inhaled deeply, and froze.

Her smell was different.

Was she misremembering that too?

She opened her eyes. Across the room, hanging from the wall was a series of pictures. Sakura saw herself throughout childhood, but not her siblings. Her father was in the pictures up until she became a teenager. There were no more pictures, after that. None of Sakura as a young adult at all.

Sakura pulled back.

Mebuki's brows knitted. "Look, Sakura, I don't know how to say this, so I'll just be blunt. I understand you're having a hard time, and I'm sorry for what happened. But you showing up so suddenly is...weird for me."

Sakura swallowed, throat dry. Of course. Of course it was different. It would have been too perfect. Her mother was alive—

—but she wasn't  _her_  mother.

And everyone else was dead or gone.

Sakura's heart squeezed like a vice. She grabbed her chest, doubling over.

"Hey, are you okay? You're not sick or something?" Mebuki asked, voice high.

"It's okay," Sakura assured, mostly to herself. "I'll be okay."

Whether this was real or not, whether this was different...did it really matter so much? Couldn't Sakura have this, if only for a moment?

Wasn't this her wildest dream come true?

She sucked in a breath, turning to her mother with suddenly clear eyes. "Can we do something together?"

Mebuki jerked back in surprise. "What?"

"Let's forget everything. From before. And just spend time together. We'll start over." Sakura had no idea what she was saying—no clue of their dynamic or situation—but she wasn't sure she cared. This woman looked and moved and breathed like her mother, even if she smelled different.

Mebuki shook her head slowly. "Sakura…"

" _Please?"_  Sakura was not above begging.

Mebuki rolled her eyes in the most uncharacteristic way. "I have to work tomorrow, I don't know—"

"What about dinner out? I'll pay." Sakura belated realized she didn't know if she had any money on her.

"I just cooked!"

"It's okay, we can come back and eat it afterward too. I'm really hungry." Suddenly, it was true—she was famished.

Mebuki looked at Sakura like she'd grown an extra head.

"Please?" Sakura tried again, standing on shaking legs and offering her mother a hand. With a long hesitation, Mebuki took it.

Sakura made sure they were out the door before her mother had a chance to change her mind. She didn't know where her feet were going, or she would have picked someplace less public than a restaurant to begin with. All she could think about was the unfamiliar but warm weight of her mother's hand in hers. Sakura squeezed it tighter and allowed her legs to carry her where they would.

They wound up in front of Kagaya, the soba shop Sakura's team normally met at. Except the red curtains were swapped for blue, and there was no sign of its hanging lanterns. Sakura led the way in anyway and found them a table.

Mebuki's nose wrinkled. "Ramen? Seriously, Sakura?" She sat down with resignation.

Sakura beamed. "I'm just happy to be here with you. I don't care what we eat. We can go wherever you like."

Mebuki shifted in her seat, averting her eyes from Sakura to look down at the menu. "It's fine."

The silence was thick. Sakura didn't know where to start. Mebuki didn't seem to  _want_ to start.

Sakura took her time to drink in every inch of her mother: the shape of her eyes, the tilt of her head. She would memorize every detail or die trying.

Mebuki put the menu down and blew out a breath. "Look, Sakura, this isn't working. It's weird. You're acting like a different person, and it's freaking me out. What exactly is going on? Why did you come visit me in the first place?"

So they didn't live together. Sakura could not possibly fathom  _why_.

Realizing Mebuki was still waiting, Sakura tried to answer as honestly as she could without sounding like a lunatic. "I guess...you could say I've had a life-changing experience."

Mebuki stared.

Some of the high Sakura was riding on faded at the look. Why did this have to be so complicated? Couldn't they just spend time together, differences aside? Maybe this didn't have to be a nightmare—maybe it was a blessing. Maybe Sakura's whole world somehow rearranged itself so she could have a mother again.

The thought of her life—her friends, the rest of her family, all changed or gone—tried to rise, unbidden, but she pushed it down aggressively.

Itachi's face flashed before her eyes, and she could not push that image back. She blinked, trying to get her bearings again through the pain.

Mebuki closed her eyes and put down the menu. "This was a bad idea."

That cut deeply. It wasn't  _herself_ that her mother was talking about—she didn't even know her, but she  _could—_

" _Sakura?"_ A hissed voice from behind made Sakura turn.

A blond kunoichi was staring at them. Sakura vaguely remembered the girl from their academy days. A Yamanaka.

Mebuki's face went flat. "Ino." It wasn't a greeting.

The girl smiled tightly at Mebuki. It didn't reach her eyes. "Haruno-san."

Without warning, the girl called Ino grabbed Sakura's wrist hard, yanking her to her feet.

"Hey!" Sakura protested, too surprised by the sudden movement to have stopped it.

Ino pulled her aside and started speaking in a strained whisper. "Sakura, what the fuck are you doing? Are you having dinner with your  _mother?"_

Sakura pulled her wrist away, rubbing it. "Is that so strange?"

" _Yes!"_  Ino hissed emphatically. "What is wrong with you? Haven't you learned by now?"

Sakura shook her head in bewilderment. "Excuse me, how is this your business?" It wasn't entirely sarcastic—for all Sakura knew it  _was_  the other girl's business.

Ino reacted as though slapped. Sakura almost felt bad. "Wow, Sakura. Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the missions, but trying to drive me away when you're clearly unstable? Not the best idea you've ever had."

Sakura stood there awkwardly. "If that's all you have to say, I'm going back to dinner now—"

Ino went for her wrist again. This time Sakura caught the other's hand instead. Her eyes flashed. "You need to stop doing that."

Ino stepped back, glass-blue eyes wide at the warning. Then they narrowed, a strange expression crossing her face. "Something's up with you."

Sakura shrugged. "I'm fine. Please excuse me." She walked back to the table and sat down resolutely, feeling Ino's eyes still on her back.

The girl was just standing there, watching them. Sakura and Mebuki stared at each other a moment longer, silence becoming heavier with each passing second.

Suddenly Mebuki stood. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I just can't." She turned to leave.

"Wait!" Sakura said, too loudly. Several diners turned around, but Sakura didn't care. "Please don't leave. We don't have to stay. Can I come over? Maybe—maybe sleep at your place?" And Mebuki could make breakfast in the morning—no, Sakura would make it for her—maybe she still liked blueberry pancakes—they used to have them every Sunday—

Mebuki let out a disbelieving breath without bothering to answer. She turned and left.

Sakura watched her mother walk away, feeling like everything that had ever been good and right in her life was leaving with her. But her legs wouldn't move.

The tears were coming again, and people were staring. Ino approached cautiously from behind, and Sakura was too numb to protest. She let the girl guide her by the elbow out of the restaurant and down several blocks to an unfamiliar apartment building. The number on the front door was missing a nail—Sakura guessed the six was originally a nine. The empty nail hole was vivid against the faded red paint.

Wordlessly, Ino bent to pull a key out from beneath a vacant flower pot. She let them into the apartment, led the way to the bedroom and ushered Sakura toward the bed.

All of Sakura's normal mental faculties had drained out of her ears. Confusion clung to her, thick and slow like fog. Nevertheless, she managed to murmur her discomfort at the stranger turning down bedsheets. "What about you? Where will you sleep?"

Ino blinked. "I, uh, was gonna go home—unless you need company? I could take the couch…"

Oh. So this place was  _Sakura's_ home, then. She shook her head. "I'd rather be alone. Thank you."

Ino was kind enough to bring her a glass of water and shut the lights off before leaving, promising to return first thing in the morning. Sakura was too exhausted to struggle to understand why anyone should care that much. She just accepted it.

Sakura fell asleep quickly. Despite her efforts, no human can ever be aware of the precise moment they cross the boundary into the realm of dreams.

The terror of not being able to find that boundary in order to cross back, then, is almost as justified as the fear that one may not want to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Please share your thoughts with me, if only to let me know you're still reading! As you can see, I've written canon-Sakura's family situation as I envisioned it reading the manga, back when it was super vague and nothing was canon. I'm sure you have plenty of questions about the details, but I assure you all will be revealed in time. I'm trying to avoid giant info-dumps (which was literally all of chapter three? Yikes!). In the meantime, I'm so curious what each of you thinks of new developments!
> 
> Next chapter is pretty much planned in full. AU-Kakashi is scheduled to finally make an appearance. Isn't it just like him to be later than every other character...?


	5. Us and Them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [reposted from ffnet]
> 
> Author's note: I am deliriously happy that some of you remember this story. And welcome, new readers! You made it past a long-ass author's note apologizing for a two year update gap (i.e. the most sinister kind of author's note). You brave fools. I'm thrilled you're here. Endless thank-yous for the reviews—they really help me to know which questions you're asking, what's being noticed, and how you're perceiving the various seeds I'm planting. Your responses help me determine the best way to water those seeds, so please keep the feedback coming! I feel it especially makes a difference for this fic.
> 
> I know I promised AU-Kakashi would appear this chapter, and in my defensive I *did* write until his appearance. Unfortunately, it took 12,000 words instead of the usual 6k, so I've chopped it in two. The upside is that once I've written AU-Saku's next part, you'll get a double update next time! I'm slightly disappointed as I feel the following AU-verse chapter is far more interesting than this one, but I figured it's better to publish sooner rather than later. Especially for those of you who (hopefully) have a long weekend in which to read. Enjoy, everyone!

**Spaces Between Stars**

**Chapter Five: Us and Them**

_**[Canon-Saku. AU-verse]** _

\- o -

"Remember, Sakura. Unless they ask you a specific question,  _do not talk._ " The heaviness in Naruto's blue eyes was no longer quite as shocking to her as it had been.

"Not a word," Sasuke echoed, unusually tense himself.

Frowning, she glanced at Itachi. His silence was puzzling. Normally she'd expect  _him_  to be the one issuing such naggy commands, but he seemed to be drawing inward. He stared straight ahead as they walked, gaze passing through the crowded hallway as if not seeing it.

"I don't understand why a Board meeting is such a big deal," Sakura muttered, adjusting the itchy cloak they'd made her wear. Already this was far more ceremonial than the tedious bureaucracy of the Council meetings Tsunade used to complain about. The grand marble-floored hallway beneath Hokage monument was packed with citizens, all dressed in identical dark cloaks. When they couldn't press forward through the crowd any further, they stopped.

"It just is," Sasuke finally answered, shrugging like he'd never really thought about it before.

Naruto studied her with deepening concern. "That's exactly why you can't talk. You don't understand how things work around here. Do yourself a favor and keep quiet. Please."

Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes, shifting the heavy fabric again. Itachi was resolutely not looking at her. Or anyone, really. At least that was a small plus.

Just as she was about to ask what in the world they were all waiting around for, the boom of an unseen gong resounded through the air. The crowd stirred, surging forward again to reveal an enormous doorway, twice as tall as it was wide. It was paneled in finely stained wood and adorned with elaborate carvings of what may have been various clan symbols. Sakura was shuffled along before she had a chance to see if she recognized any of them.

Her eyes widened as they entered a huge semi-circular chamber, replete with rows of stadium-style seating. Solemn chandeliers of flickering candles hung from the ceiling. At the bottom of the room's sunken center, a stone dais acted as a stage. On a raised platform atop the stage, seven high-backed chairs sat behind an ornate white-clothed table. Along the wall behind them was a simpler table set for about a dozen. To the side of the main platform sat a separate, smaller table with only three chairs.

She briefly wondered if the Board was not in fact a religious cult that she'd mistaken for a governing body. The rows of seats were quickly filling with what looked to be a not-insignificant percentage of Konoha.

"Are  _all_ these people Board members?" she hissed quietly to Sasuke as they filed down the staircase toward the very first row, which was notably unoccupied. Sakura got the feeling it was reserved.

He chuckled and glanced about, murmuring under his breath. "Of course not. The meetings are open to the public. Board members sit down there."

"Who  _are_  the Board members?" she asked in awe, sidling along the front row after her group.

"Each is from one of the main clans—not necessarily the head—but their individual identities are secret. Even I don't know who represents the Uchiha. The minor clans have representatives too, but can't vote. It's more of a place of honor for them."

They settled into their seats at the end of the row, Sakura between Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto frowned at them both, finger over his mouth.

Sasuke shrugged. "What? It hasn't even started yet."

As though in answer, the gong sounded a second time. All around them, the crowd fell silent and raised the black hoods of their cloaks. Sakura scrambled to cover her bright hair with her own, affected by the atmosphere.

A heavy door in the stone wall opened onto the stage with a groan. A dozen people in snowy, white cloaks entered single-file to take their places at the back table, faces hidden by featureless white masks with dark eye holes. Sakura was again taken aback by the theatricality.

Next came three familiar people, also in white but without masks: the Yondaime, Danzou, and Orochimaru. To her surprise they passed the main table and seated themselves at the small one off to the side.

Sakura opened her mouth to ask if they were members too, but remembered Naruto's warning. She noted the pen and paper that had been provided at every seat-presumably for note-taking purposes-and quickly scribbled her question to Sasuke instead.

He peered down at the paper surreptitiously before jotting down an answer.  _No, they're more like advisers. Only the main clan reps get to vote._

She glanced up in surprise when the gong sounded a third time. Five white-clad figures in shining golden masks appeared, moving in dignified procession to their places at the main table. Sakura noted the same symbols from the door engraved on their identical masks, all jumbled up and difficult to make out.

She glanced in puzzlement at the empty seats on either end of the main table, putting pen to paper again.  _Are they missing two members?_

Sasuke stiffened, shooting her a furtive look before replying.  _It's customary for the Hokage's clan to give up their voting seat while he's in power. Minato married into the Uzumaki clan, so their seat is saved until he steps down._

His pen hesitated, but he continued without looking at her.  _The other seat is reserved for the Haruno._

Sakura's brow furrowed. How could that be? In this world  _she_ was supposed to be the last Haruno, everyone was insistent that her entire family had been—

Her thoughts were interrupted by a muffled voice. One of the golden-masked Board members was standing, quiet words carrying easily through the large chamber. "The second monthly meeting of Konohagakure's Governing Board is now in session. We begin with foreign affairs."

Another member at the main table stood once the first sat down. "Intelligence has informed the Board of an upcoming threat to our neighbor, the merchant village of Remu. A small group of missing-nin have been conducting organized raids on several civilian villages over the past few months, mostly for supplies and weapons. They are moving north, and are expected to come within range of Remu as early as next week, but more likely the week after. Remu has offered us one hundred of their specialized chakra katana in exchange for protection. All in favor?"

Four of the main members raised white-gloved hands, the non-voting members looking on silently.

The speaker continued. "Motion accepted. The Martial Negotiations department will handle details of the arrangement, per usual protocol. The Board further proposes a temporary travel ban west of Konoha between 11.6 and 11.945 degrees north latitude, beginning next week and ending after the strike. All in favor?"

Only three of the members raised their hands this time.

"Motion accepted. Will the Yondaime agree to sign a Category Three village directive?"

"I do," Minato said. Sakura wondered what the point of asking his permission was if they'd already voted.

"The Board thanks you for for service, Hokage. The Communications department shall announce it tonight, and Enforcement is to set up appropriate patrol arrangements at the allotted time."

A third member took the floor next. "The Board wishes to inform the public that a classified operation was conducted on Sunagakure's territory three days ago. It was successful, and no retaliation is expected as of yet. A sensitive object was delivered to experimental researchers at BERI for examination. The Board thanks them for their service."

Danzou and Orochimaru bowed their heads. Sasuke and Naruto exchanged smug looks beside her, but she couldn't make anything of it. Itachi continued to watch the proceedings, distant and still.

Yet another member stood to open the floor for discussion of domestic affairs. Sakura found herself struggling to pay attention to the proposals about infrastructure upkeep, how much money to allocate toward funding another wing of the orphanage, and whether a C-rank mission subclassified as 02 wouldn't be better reclassified as 06. Despite the pomp and circumstance, the meeting was terribly dry so far. She was beginning to suspect that this Konoha experienced even  _fewer_ hardships than her own comfortably postwar Konoha did.

Just as Sakura gave in to the urge to glance about the room for distractions, the topic shifted to clan matters.

"In light of unusual events recounted to the Board by the Hokage and BERI, we now open the floor to Uchiha Itachi."

Sakura stiffened as Itachi stood. She thought his eyes briefly flickered to Danzou before refocusing on the Board, his demeanor calmer and more collected than she'd seen it yet.

"Thank you. I regret to inform the Board that my subordinate, Haruno Sakura, the last living user of the Torikae bloodline limit, has undergone inexplicable changes to her consciousness. I understand BERI has explained some of the details."

Sakura bit back her gasp, the air in the room suffocating as every eye turned toward her. The Board stared at her with expressionless faces for a long moment before one spoke.

"Can she still use the Torikae?"

"That remains unclear, but is under investigation. It seems likely she will regain its use eventually."

A different member responded. "The Haruno bloodline limit is unique in all the ninja world. It is a legacy technique that has afforded Konoha genetic and military advantages throughout our history, and has been integral to maintaining our village's position within the balance of global powers. It must be preserved at all costs."

The other members nodded general agreement. The first speaker stood again. "Will she still be able to pass the technique to her descendants?"

Itachi's fingers curled imperceptibly at his sides, but his voice was the picture of professional detachment. "BERI has no reason to think otherwise at this time. Her body seems intact, even if its relationship to her mind is not. BERI's tests indicate this includes her reproductive organs."

Sakura had never wished to be invisible so badly before. Was the governing body of Konoha seriously discussing her  _reproductive organs_ in a public forum, as though she had no reasonable expectation of privacy?

Wait. Oh no. No no no. The empty seat reserved for the Haruno...surely they didn't think they could just  _demand_  children of a person? What was she, a brood mare?

The tension all but drained out of the room with the assurance, however. "The Board proposes a continuation of its previous recommendation regarding the Haruno clan. All those in favor?"

Five hands went up. Sakura had no idea what the hell had just been decided for her. She tried to catch her teammate's eyes in panic, but each steadfastly ignored her. Naruto lightly kicked her under the table, chin jerking toward the stage. She forced her eyes ahead in disbelief.

"Then it's decided. Is there anything you would like to propose or request of the Board regarding this matter?"

Itachi spoke slowly and carefully. "I am concerned that changes in her consciousness may have unexpected consequences for the village. As the Board has acknowledged, her bloodline limit is uniquely valuable. For it to be functional not just in the future, but at present, it is imperative that we restore her normal mental state. I request the permission of the Board to investigate resources outside of Konoha to that effect."

Shocked silence fell. Sakura, too, was surprised that he was able to make such a request sound so impersonal when she knew it was anything but.

"That is an unusual request, but given the circumstances...do the representatives of BERI have an opinion?"

Danzou and Orochimaru exchanged a glance. Danzou stood. "We feel she has the greatest chance to regain her use of the Torikae under the supervision of BERI, though it is possible that resources exist elsewhere that we are unaware of. Because her current state should not prevent reproduction of her bloodline limit, we see no meaningful reason to pursue such unusual recourse."

"Is the Board to understand that—aside from her personal gain—there is no additional benefit afforded to the village by the immediate recovery of her ordinary consciousness?"

 _No additional benefit_ …?! Sakura's disbelieving snort echoed around the chamber, drawing the impenetrably dark eye holes of each mask toward her. Cold sweat trickled down her spine.

"None, other than her ability to perform her usual duties, which we estimate can be regained in time regardless."

Sakura's jaw hung open. Surely someone would care that she was literally not herself. Surely other Sakura's existence mattered to the village apart from whatever services she might offer it. The value of a human being couldn't be reduced to one's genetics, and Sakura  _deserved_  every chance to return to normal, just as anyone in her position would.

"All in favor of accepting Uchiha Itachi's proposal?"

Two hands raised. Only two. A wave of disgust washed through her, before it morphed to fire in her veins.  _No one_  should be able to make decisions about another human life so callously, and if they thought she would simply roll over and take it without a fight, they were about to be sorely disappointed. Green eyes bright with anger, Sakura pushed herself to her feet and opened her mouth.

Her legs were swiped out from beneath her by a foot. She made the mistake of glancing at the perpetrator as she fell back into her seat.

Sasuke's eyes flashed red with the Sharingan, and suddenly Sakura couldn't move. Couldn't speak.

Righteous anger boiled through her, but it was all for nothing.

"Motion rejected. Session adjourned."

Sakura's so-called team had to sit with her in motionless silence while every single person trickled out, apparently unwilling to release the genjutsu until they were alone for fear of retaliation. When the last spectator left, she felt control of her body return in a rush.

Sakura did not scream, or kick, or punch. She gathered up what was left of her dignity in silence, glaring ice at all three of them. None said a word, refusing to meet either her accusing gaze or each other's.

She held the feeling of betrayal to her chest like armor as she left, abandoning them to the empty chamber. For once, they let her go without protest.

Having teammates that couldn't be trusted was far worse than having no teammates at all. Sakura could do better than that. She  _would_ do better than that. If she truly couldn't trust anyone in this village to be on her side, she would simply have to go elsewhere. But there was one more person she needed to try first.

As she stalked away, there was new purpose in her stride.

\- o -

Sakura approached the next imposing door with less trepidation than she normally would have felt, but she was certain nothing could be worse than what she'd already seen behind the previous doors. She raised her fist to knock firmly.

Finding the address had been tricky. Without the help of her traitors, she had to resort to asking random passersby around the marketplace. Every one of them had politely refused the information she requested, but had given her sketchy looks, as though news of her "changes in consciousness" had already spread through town.

For all Sakura knew, perhaps it had.

Minato was the only one to take pity on her, once she'd given in and made the trek to Hokage tower. He gave her a pained look, and warned her that she likely wouldn't find what she was looking for, but jotted down the street number anyway.

Funny how only the Hokage had the courage to actually try to help her. This Konoha was full of cowards, and Sakura had reached the point where she would do anything to be gone as quickly as possible.

She was not quite prepared for the door to be opened by a little girl with pigtails, however. She recovered from her surprise quickly. "Um, hello there. I want to speak to Senju Tsunade."

The girl blinked up at her owlishly, before turned to shout over her shoulder with deceptively powerful lungs. "MOM! There's a lady at the door for you!"

Sakura's mouth opened in shock, reassessing the shade of those blonde pigtails. It was much lighter than Tsunade's, nearly white...surely not...?

When Tsunade appeared at the door, it took every ounce of Sakura's restraint not to throw herself at the woman, but she couldn't stop the quiver in her lip. Tsunade looked different without her Yin seal, naturally - much older - but a few wrinkles hardly stopped Sakura's heart from speeding up at the sight of her.

Tsunade raised a wary brow, no doubt catching the waves of emotion rolling off Sakura. "Uh, yes?"

Before Sakura could speak, Tsunade's eyes widened. " _Oh._ You're the Haruno girl. Minato told me you'd probably come see me at some point." She hesitated. "I know a little about your situation, but I can't help you."

Sakura's jaw set. "Can I just come in for a minute to talk? Please?"

Tsunade gazed at her doubtfully. "I suppose."

Relief coursed through Sakura as she stepped inside. The child had wandered off, leaving Sakura alone with Tsunade.

"Tea?" Tsunade offered. Sakura declined, unsure if there would be booze in it.

Tsunade led the way to a traditional sitting room, helping herself to a cushion on the tatami, and indicating Sakura should do the same. The older woman poured a cup for herself and took a sip before jumping straight to the point: "Well? What do you want?"

Sakura's spine stiffened. She slammed her hands on the floor and bent forward, touching her forehead to the mat in the most formal of bows. "Please train me."

Tsunade choked on her tea. "Heavens, girl, you sure are forward."

Sakura was not deterred. She spoke into the tatami. "I beg you. I will be the absolute best student you've ever had, I swear it."

Tsunade laughed. "Not hard, considering I've never had a student."

"Then let me be the first.  _Please._ I'll do anything."

Tsunade waved her hands, gesturing for Sakura to sit up. "Alright, look. I understand you're out of your element here, and probably don't know I'm A) not a teacher, and B) retired as hell. What exactly are you trying to learn?"

Sakura poured all her earnestness into her eyes. "Since my situation is theoretically an accident of her—my—clan's bloodline limit, my best—well, only—guess at how to return myself to normal is to learn the Torikae in the hope of reversing everything myself."

Tsunade's brow furrowed. "How could I possibly help you learn to use a bloodline limit that I have nothing to do with?"

"In order to learn it, I may have to—" Sakura hesitated, unsure whether this Tsunade could be trusted, and hating herself for her doubt. But she had no choice but to risk it. "I may need to leave the village if no one here can help me. And I can't do that unless I'm able to defend myself." She didn't need to add that she would have to do it alone. Or that she had no idea where to go.

"You still haven't answered my question. What exactly can I teach you that your own captain couldn't?"

Sakura's eyes turned pleading. "Just my normal techniques. Especially medical jutsu, and any other ninjutsu this body may know."

Tsunade's expression turned to something like pity. "You think I'm a medic-nin?"

Sakura's heart crashed to her knees. This possibility had occurred to her, but she knew acknowledging it meant she had truly reached the end of her rope.

"Is there no one else in the village who could train me in medical jutsu?" Sakura knew it was a useless question—who would have knowledge superior to her own except Tsunade? How could someone help train her if Sakura had to  _teach them_ first? She needed another set of eyes that was at least as skilled as her own.

Tsunade shook her head slowly. "We have medic-nin at the hospital, of course, but it's not an especially well-developed program. If you're looking for a really good teacher, you'd be better off in another village. Well, my teammate Orochimaru could probably help you, but don't bother, he'll never agree to a favor for free. And if he offers help for a price, don't accept."

Konoha without an advanced medical program hardly seemed like Konoha at all. Sakura's eyes grew hot with threatened tears as she wracked her brain, trying to explain the change. A thought occurred to her. "That little girl...your daughter...is Dan alive?"

Tsunade blinked in surprise. "You know my husband?"

"And your younger brother...he's alive, too?"

Tsunade just nodded, bewildered.

That explained it, then. Their deaths were what motivated Tsunade to almost single-handedly create a world-class medic-nin program in Konoha. She was the one who insisted a medic accompany every team during the war. Without her personal loss, with Tsunade clearly well-adjusted, there was nothing.

Sakura had nothing.

Tsunade interrupted before Sakura could lose herself completely. "You know what, kid? You've got moxie."

Sakura cautiously raised her eyes from the floor.

"I mean it. Do you even need a teacher? Isn't your plan just to relearn stuff you mostly already know?"

Sakura blinked slowly. "Kind of, but—"

"Then fuck it. You know how to train, right? Have you even tried very hard?"

"Well, not yet, but—"

"Get to it. Don't depend on others so much. Rely on yourself, and I have a feeling you'll be fine." Tsunade paused for thought. "Although, I'm willing to bet that help in this village may be more forthcoming than you think. If this place is like new to you, I'd wager it's your expectations that need adjusting; you might be approaching others all wrong. You can't expect the world to adapt to  _you_."

Sakura was doubtful. What  _should_ she have done to ask for help, then, except…

Oh. Well. The problem wasn't so much a failure to ask—she'd certainly done enough of that—but the help that was offered wasn't what she  _wanted_. Yet, accepting Tsunade's words, difficult as it was, seemed to be actually helping. She was determined to listen to her, and she did her best to trust her despite her reservations. And Minato too…

Sakura nearly smacked herself in the face. She'd spent almost every moment since she got here  _resisting_ others, because everything was so different from what she thought it should be. "Crap. You really think so?"

Tsunade nodded. "I do. And I  _never_  lose a bet."

Sakura almost smiled at the irony of such a statement. "Really?"

Tsunade grinned. "Yup. I'm the luckiest kunoichi in Fire Country. Gamblers fear me the world over as 'The Legendary Champion'."

Tsunade was different, to be sure. Less rough around the edges, but she still had something of her shishou about her. Just...without a great deal of suffering. Sakura was increasingly sure there was nothing in the older woman's teacup besides tea. She blew out a long sigh, but stood when Tsunade did, somehow feeling better.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you, but I respect your guts. Don't hesitate to knock if you ever need anything. It never hurts to ask, and my clan is pretty influential. Also, I could use someone to play with my youngest occasionally."

Sakura couldn't help raise her brow. " _Youngest,_ as in, more than one?"

Tsunade beamed proudly. "Five brats. Too many already grown. But still brats."

Sakura nearly tripped on herself and wound up stumbling across the front door's threshold. It took her a moment to recover. "I'll do that. And thank you." She offered a deep bow before turning to go.

The door was nearly shut when Sakura spun around in alarm. "Wait!"

Tsunade paused. "Yeah?"

"Could you...maybe tell me where I live?"

Tsunade laughed heartily.

\- o -

Sakura looked up.

And up. And still, she could not quite grasp that this enormous house—no, this entire huge  _complex_ , packed with courtyards and alleys and smaller houses and green spaces and a frickin' private  _pond_ —was supposed to belong to her.

Exactly how big had her family been? And to think she lived in the  _biggest_  house of the lot!

It took her forever to find the key. In her world, she always kept a spare in a flowerpot or under a doormat, like her mother did. But here…well, a secret compartment sewn into her own bra had been the  _last_ place she'd thought to check.

The doors swung open on soundless hinges. Sakura crept into the house like a criminal breaking and entering. Fortunately, the lights were already on, which helped dispel the thought. It was not quite as fancy inside as the sheer size of the outside might suggest, but the foyer was still grand and Western-style. Ostentatious.

She wrinkled her nose a bit in distaste. The shoe rack was absurdly long, able to fit a dozen pairs easily. She stuffed hers in beside a cubby occupied by a pair of men's shinobi sandals, vaguely wondering what they were still doing there if the house had only been occupied by other Sakura for eight years now. Maybe some sentimental value?

She cautiously gave herself a tour of the first floor, unsure what the justification for two living rooms could possibly be. By the time she reached the kitchen, she was beginning to relax incrementally...until she noticed the dishes in the sink. Recently used.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Had someone else been here?

Her stomach bottomed out. Oh no. Oh shit. Shit shit.

Hadn't Danzou mentioned a  _boyfriend?_ Wasn't that just part of the memory test, a trick question?

_What if it hadn't been a leading question?_

Her heart stuttered. Could it be Itachi? He was almost offensively protective of other Sakura—but no, he denied his feelings too categorically for it to be a socially acceptable thing. Unless they were secretly dating?

She mulled over another option: what about Sasuke? In her world she was in love with him, but he didn't seem at all attracted to her...not that he was in her world, either…

Sakura paused at that thought. Was she even attracted to this Sasuke? Was she  _hopeful_  that it might be him?

To her shock, the answer was a resounding 'no'. Sure, he was handsome, but he was completely  _different._ She compared them mentally: her Sasuke was cool and aloof, challenging to read; this Sasuke was an open book. Her Sasuke rarely smiled; this Sasuke both laughed and complained easily. Her Sasuke was stiff and uncomfortable around her; this Sasuke was usually expressive and relaxed.

Okay, so in some ways this Sasuke arguably had the more tolerable personality, yet she definitely didn't like him. Not like that. They weren't even friends, really, and he had just betrayed her to boot.

Which begged the question: what  _did_ she love about her Sasuke by comparison?

When she was a kid, that cool aloofness was appealing. It had been enough for a crush. But as she aged, it had become more complicated. Searching for him was her whole life for years: it had been an attempt to recover an important piece of herself—a comrade, a friend, a wayward member of her home, a part of her past...someone she genuinely loved with all her heart, though they hadn't had an ongoing relationship since they were twelve...which is why he was so estranged even having been back in the village for over a year...did she really still know him well enough to compare him to this world's Sasuke?

But how could she suddenly feel she didn't know someone she'd been in love with for half her life?

Sakura was yanked from her anxious musings by the realization that not only had someone else been here—they hadn't left. She spun around, chakra sensors flaring. There was one signature somewhere behind the house, approaching fast. It was familiar but she couldn't place it.

She hesitated a moment, unsure whether to get the hell out or confront whoever it was. Before she could move, the scrape of the sliding glass door in the living room told her she'd paused a moment too long. The sound of two outside shoes hitting the floor with a thunk jarred her.

"Sakura? Are you here?"

The familiar voice froze her in place as the man entered the kitchen.

Neji stopped in his tracks when he saw her, pinching the bridge of his nose. His eyelids slipped closed over empty pupils.

"Kami...Sakura, I waited for you all day." He inhaled a steadying breath and strode toward her purposefully. Whatever was emanating from him made her casually back up until her spine hit the counter.

"I heard things from the Board meeting this morning, and—" He touched her shoulders softly, looking her up and down. "Tell me they're just rumors."

"Um," Sakura squeaked, slipping out of his grip and twirling away from her entrapment, trying not to be too obvious about it. She held her hands up. "If you mean the consciousness stuff, we can talk about this." Without touching. "It's probably a little more complicated than you think."

She could sense his anxiety mounting. Neji had always been a quietly intense person in his own way, but this was unprecedented. He stared at her like he was considering disregarding her request and carting her off somewhere.

Before he could open his mouth, she interrupted. "First, just to be totally clear: are we dating?" She cringed slightly at her own words, but tried to suppress it out of politeness. She liked Neji just fine, but they really weren't that close, and this situation was already at maximum awkwardness.

Neji swallowed, then went very, very still. Sakura was about to wonder if he was still breathing when he abruptly began pacing.

Before she could quite mentally calculate the distance to the hallway, he spun, leveling an accusing glare at her that froze her in her tracks. "You can't do this."

"I—what?"

"If you have a grievance against me, Sakura, we need to talk it out. Your behavior is unacceptable."

Her brows shot into her hairline at his tone, before crashing back down into a glare. "I—you think I'm  _faking_  because I'm mad at you or something? Okay, I know this sounds far out, but I am  _not who you think I am_ , and I have virtually  _no relationship with you._  Please don't assume things."

He glowered in return, pale skin flushed. "You can't just throw away years' worth of plans, destroy the future of your own house, completely disregard the Board—"

Sakura sucked in a breath, blood draining from her face. She remembered the Board's earlier words among the talk of her 'reproductive organs': _'The Board proposes a continuation of its previous recommendation regarding the Haruno clan.'_  Combined with their preternatural interest in preserving her bloodline limit...

She gasped, gazing at him with saucers for eyes. "Neji—we're not—am I—are we  _engaged_?" The last word came out as a gurgle.

Instead of raising his voice it came out as a low hiss. "Sakura. I have done  _nothing_ but accommodate your needs for  _three years now_. You wanted space; I gave it to you. You wanted to wait on a physical relationship; I respected that. You wanted to remain closer to the Uchiha clan than the Hyuuga, and I never objected no matter how improper it looked. But  _all of it_  was done with the mutual understanding that we would one day rebuild the Haruno clan ourselves, better and stronger, with the support of the Hyuuga house and the Byakugan."

Sakura just stared in open shock.

He continued the rant. "How can you even  _think_  of betraying our agreement? If you've stopped caring about my clan, don't you still care about preserving your own? How can you betray your parents' memories like that?"

Before she could react, he had closed the gap between them, lifting her hand gently and calming himself in the same breath.

"Sakura, the Board will never allow this. We can forget this ever happened and start over. Please see sense. Try to think of the village. This is about so much more than our own selfish—"

Too much. It was too much. This false supplication was the final straw. Sakura yanked her hand from his and drew it back, muscles coiling for the strike that would break his nose—

A hand caught her elbow, but it wasn't Neji's.

"Neji!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning brightly. "Good to see you! We were just coming to collect Sakura for some training."

Sasuke inserted himself smoothly between them, draping an arm casually across Neji's shoulders and guiding him away. "You may have heard," he began, voice dropping with conspiratorial seriousness, "that Sakura has been through a strange event. We're working with BERI to get her back to normal as soon as possible."

Neji started to shake his head, trying to move away from Sasuke. "No, you don't understand, she—"

"Probably said a lot of crazy things," Sasuke filled in, redoubling his grip with a chummy laugh. "It's completely curable, she just needs her memory back. A little accident with the Torikae, nothing Danzou can't reverse."

Neji turned his suspicious glare on Naruto, who looked apologetic. "So sorry you had to find out this way. We were going to tell you ourselves this evening, though Danzou would prefer to keep it quiet since he expects she'll be fully recovered so quickly."

Sasuke nodded, mirroring Naruto's apologetic expression. "Even so, we thought you deserved to know."

"But don't worry, we'll take good care of her in the meantime. You can count on the support of the Uzumaki."

"And the Uchiha!"

Neji glanced back and forth between their sincere faces, uncertainty painted on his features. His eyes landed on Sakura.

After a hesitation, she forced a smile so tight that it physically hurt her. "Danzou  _did_ emphasize how fast my recovery would be."

Neji didn't even have a chance to gaze at her doubtfully before Sasuke had steered him through the foyer toward the front door and Naruto was handing him his shoes.

"We'll keep her out of the public's eye until things settle down," Naruto babbled, yanking the door open.

" _I_  wouldn't talk much about this whole embarrassment," Sasuke offered, appreciating the way Neji stiffened at the thought. "Why worry your house over a temporary problem?"

Neji nodded vaguely, lost in thought. He crossed the threshold of his own volition, but turned to look over his shoulder at them. "Will you keep me updated?"

They answered simultaneously: "Absolutely!" "Every day."

Neji nodded again, mostly to himself, wheels turning. "Yes...okay...thank you," he remembered to tack on before turning to slowly make his way down the sidewalk.

They gazed after him for a moment, before slamming the door and locking it, grins melting off their faces.

Back in the kitchen, Sakura had fallen to her knees and was memorizing the shapes of some crumbs on the floor.

She stared at them when they entered. They stared back.

"I—" she started, then stopped. "Thank you," she said meekly.

They shared a look before joining her on the kitchen floor. Sasuke spoke up first. "Sakura, we're really sorry about earlier."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "We were coming to apologize when we heard Neji. We thought about how we must come off to you—like we're trying to constantly control you. But you should know that our intention is to  _help you._ "

"No offense," Sasuke began, signaling he was about to say something offensive, "but you don't know what 'help' looks like in this world. You keep saying we don't know the first thing about you, and that may be so, but the same goes for you. You don't understand anything going on here, or how to stay out of trouble."

Naruto was even more blunt. "Let us help. Frankly, you need it. If you had really punched Neji and broken the unofficial engagement, you could have started an inter-clan fight. The Board planned to pair the Haruno heir with the Hyuuga not only to preserve and combine both your bloodline limits, but to cement the balance of power and alliances between clans in the first place, which shifted since the Haruno were killed. If you dissolved that alliance so violently, the Uzumaki and Uchiha would have sided with you, and the Senju with whoever the Uzumaki went with—"

"But the Aburame and Akimichi would side with the Hyuuga," Sasuke elaborated, "and all the minor clans would line up accordingly, the Board would be impossibly divided—"

"The government could grind to a halt—if real fighting erupted, that could be it for Konoha. Sheer chaos. It's happened before," Naruto finished, clearly not wanting to think on it further. "Just.  _Please_  don't punch Neji—or anyone else—in the face. Not without checking with us first."

"No matter how funny it would be," Sasuke added seriously, ignoring Naruto's wry glance.

Sakura blinked slowly, trying to process that she had unknowingly almost destroyed Konoha. It wasn't working well, and her mind shifted to a more graspable question instead.

"You don't really support the marriage, then? Or do you?"

They exchanged a glance. "We do," Naruto began.

"Technically," Sasuke corrected. "But we support our teammate's feelings more."

Sakura was dazed. " _She_ doesn't support the marriage?"

Both looked like they'd rather do anything than answer, and suddenly found the crumbs on the floor fascinating. Sasuke finally spoke up, voice thick. "Someone in her position doesn't really get a choice."

Everyone was uncomfortable for a long beat. Finally, Sakura broke the silence.

"Why would you help me if you don't even know me?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You mean  _besides_  the fact that it's the right thing to do? What kind of people do you think we are?"

"Also doesn't hurt that the consequences of  _not_ helping you seem to involve civil war or other catastrophe," Sasuke chimed in.

"But more broadly," Naruto interjected, waving Sasuke off, "we miss our teammate and want her back, and assume you feel the same about yours."

"No offense," Sasuke repeated. "You seem very nice. But this whole thing is uncomfortable, 'cause you're kind of like Sakura, but kind of not, and you look and sound like her, until you don't—and it makes it hard to separate you two mentally, which is why you'll give our taichou a stroke—"

Sakura's pupils were blown wide, something like happiness coursing through her veins for the first time since her life turned upside down.

They understood.

This experience was as strange for them as it was for her.

To her utter amazement, she had this one, critical thing in common with these strangers-who-weren't-strangers. And maybe that was enough to start with.

She let herself fall backward to stare up at the ceiling, realizing they really were on her side, and that she was lucky to have them.

"Thank you," she repeated. "I accept your help. I trust you."

Remembering not-Tsunade's words, she truly meant it. It was her only chance.


	6. High Hopes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Longer-than-usual chapter here, yikes! Both sides of the story are preparing to crank up the pace so there's quite a bit of ground to cover. Thank you for your patience! And for the reviews! Even if I don't manage to respond, please know that I re-read them obsessively. I appreciate your insight, and each one provides fuel to keep me going.
> 
> I confess I had to go back to edit a detail already (SomebodyLost knew it would happen eventually!): without her Yin seal in the AU-verse, Tsunade's age would be showing, so I added that into Sakura's response upon meeting her in the alternate universe. No need to re-read anything just for one minor detail, but since it came up this chapter it was bothering me.
> 
> As promised, this is a double update. Next chapter is complete and will be posted as soon as I have a chance to do one last re-read. Enjoy!

**Spaces Between Stars**

**Chapter Six: High Hopes**

_**[AU-Saku. Canon-verse]** _

\- o -

Sakura gasped, sitting up. The shock of cold water in her face took up most of her brain's processing power, so it took her a moment longer than usual to realize she'd just been (rather rudely) woken from a dead sleep.

The blonde kunoichi in the chair beside her bed didn't look the least bit sorry. "That was some nightmare you were having. I couldn't even use my mind techniques to wake you." She crossed one leg over the other to match her arms, a frostiness in the air about her that Sakura didn't remember from yesterday. "I did come across some  _other_  interesting information, however. So. Who are you?"

Sakura suddenly remembered her name: Ino, a surprise ally last night, but clearly an enemy today. So it goes.

"Is this a joke?" Sakura managed to sound indignant, squirming in her sopping clothes. She was trying to buy time to examine the various exits in the room. She'd only just begun to eye the window when she realized it was fruitless - there was some kind of chakra barrier surrounding the bedroom. Sakura had no idea what would happen if she tried to escape, and she wasn't planning to test it without further information. Her eyes glittered.

"You think you can hold me here?"

"I'll ask you again," Ino replied, unperturbed. "Who are you?"

Sakura scowled, but said nothing.

Ino had the audacity to study her fingernails. "Your game's up. We Yamanaka are consciousness specialists. It didn't take me a single second of being in your head this morning to be sure you are not Sakura. I'm giving you one last chance to confess on your own."

Sakura had no choice. There was no way she was going to try to explain anything about her impossible circumstances, but the chakra barrier suggested some kind of interrogation was coming. Enduring it in her current vulnerable state was out of the question. The best solution would be to attack this girl and hope the barrier dissolves upon her injury or death. It wasn't a plan without consequences—she'd probably have to leave this place or risk retaliation—but she couldn't think of a better alternative.

Sakura assessed what she could of the other's chakra. Ino had gone and told her outright she was a mind specialist—good. Nobody was better prepared to fend off a mental invasion than Sakura, who could keep even Itachi away from her most sensitive memories (on good days, anyway). Although Sakura had no confidence in her own jutsu working properly, she still had taijutsu, the element of surprise, and a world-class range of experience.

Beneath the blanket, Sakura's muscles coiled. Before Ino noted the shift in atmosphere, Sakura yanked the bedside table lamp from the wall, snapping its cord, and flew toward Ino's head with it.

A well-manicured hand appeared from nowhere to knock Sakura's wrist aside effortlessly, another body behind her spinning her off-course back toward the bed. She had just a moment to register the newcomers: a stocky blonde woman—a Senju—with an uncanny resemblance to Senju Tsunade, but too young, maybe a sister; to either side were the Naruto and Sasuke lookalikes;  _that man_ hung back near the doorway—

All priorities shifted. The backs of her knees hit the mattress. Before she could collapse atop it from her momentum, she smashed the lamp in her hand against the bed rail and flung jagged shards of porcelain at his face.

Fury burned white in her chest when he managed to dodge with only a cut on his temple. Using the bounce of her body as it fell against the mattress, Sakura would rebound and leap at him, fingernails poised to gouge out his vulnerable eye—

The bed collapsed with a single punch from the blonde Senju, taking Sakura by complete surprise. Suddenly three pairs of hands were on her, pinning her to the mattress. From the woman, an enormous weight of chakra unlike anything she'd ever felt pressed down on her. Sakura choked, certain her lungs would be crushed.

" _Subdue her!"_ Senju roared, red-faced.

Sakura saw Ino make a seal, before light engulfed her and she could feel her own body no more.

\- o -

The sound of a steady drip was the first intrusion into Sakura's sleepy awareness: the plink of water on stone. She wedged one arm underneath herself and managed to sit up with a groan.

A dark stone floor spread out around her in all directions, damp with moisture. The only light came from the orange flicker of torches, which cast strange shadows on the walls. Sakura climbed to her feet, marveling at the space around her. Radiating out from the empty chamber she stood in were concentric rows of book-lined shelves carved directly into stone walls. Narrow aisles separated the rows, winding between them. Some sections disappeared around sudden corners into darkness. Others were trapped behind steel bars and thick chains. And others still rose several stories high, trailed by rickety metal ladders. There was no ceiling, only blackness.

This place, caught somewhere between a dungeon and a library, and organized after the fashion of a labyrinth, was uncannily familiar.

The sound of a page turning made Sakura whip her head around. Ino stood off to the side, calmly thumbing through a book.

"Can't say I've seen anything quite like this before," she noted quietly, as if to herself. "And I admit I've seen enough minds in my day."

Sakura charged.

Ino merely sidestepped her, twirling to replace the book on the shelf. "Nice try, but I've improved a lot since I was young. It'll take more than force of will to get rid of me."

Sakura spun into a roundhouse kick, but her foot passed through Ino like she was made of air.

"What really gets to me is that even in your own head you made yourself look  _exactly_ like her. And these memories…" Ino floated to the right and somehow went  _through_ the shelf itself. Sakura tried to follow but slammed into nothing but perfectly corporeal stone. She ran, ducking from aisle to aisle, trying to follow the sound of pages turning and covers closing.

She found Ino in a newer section, book jackets devoid of dust.

"What have you been up to in the past few days?" Ino mused aloud, perusing the very end of the shelf. When she selected the furthest volume and opened it, light and color flooded Sakura's senses. She couldn't tell if the images flashing across her vision were actually being projected into thin air, or only in her imagination-but they so overwhelmed her that she was halted in her tracks.

A blur of the past few days played back at her, all of its confused emotions an instantaneous sensation—

Ino's eyes grew wide. "What the  _hell_ —?" She leveled a glare at Sakura. "How did you doctor your memories this much?"

Sakura remembered to breathe. "Stop this. Now."

Ino did not appreciate her tone. She raised a pale brow and faded through another shelf without a word.

Sakura scrambled. She sprinted up and down endlessly identical aisles, but there was no way to sense chakra in this place. There was no chakra, period. This was totally unlike defending against a genjutsu, and Sakura was beginning to feel her powerlessness.

Without chakra, could she be trapped in her own head?

A rustle made her pause. Hedging her bets, she turned left, heading further from the reach of the torchlight. She found Ino down what appeared to be a dead end, slipping her hand easily through the bars protecting the rightmost shelves.

"Is this the good stuff?" Ino taunted, eyebrow wagging. "I know your real memories are buried here somewhere."

Sakura hadn't even begun to close the gap between them when she was hit with another sensory explosion—

 _Small hands are gripping the kunai. Small hands, trembling. Her hands. A grown man, glassy eyes open to the sky, intestines open to the world. Warm wetness is still flecked across her face, warmth dribbling into her shoes. Immeasurable fear_ — _she is no longer about to die, and now he is just laying there, not moving. Worse, worse, this is worse than dying, this isn't supposed to happen, he is an enemy but she didn't really mean to do it. He is splattered across her, inside her, and she can never get him out now. She drops the kunai with a clatter that makes her jump and hyperventilate. She wishes for her mother's arms back home. Hellfire will swallow her for this—his ghost will come for her one day, she knows it in her bones_ —

Sakura gasped, finding herself on her knees, shuddering. The stone floor was cold sandpaper. It scraped her skin raw.

Ino sneered at her. "Unoriginal. Every shinobi remembers their first time. It's hardly psychological torture if we overlook the memories that  _really_ hurt, isn't it? You can do better."

Sakura paled, shaking her head mutely. But before she could move, Ino disappeared again. Sakura found renewed energy to haul herself to her feet and take off.

It took much longer to find Ino this time—she was heading deeper into the labyrinth, further from the light—and Sakura's legs were threatening to cramp. Her heart pounded in her chest, ears pricked for sound. There—she ducked right, sliding through a gap in the heavy chains strung across the entrance to the aisle.

Ino didn't even give her a warning this time before the images assaulted her.

 _Warm lips. Unbearable softness. She is so swollen with feeling, she is sure her heart will burst. This must be what dying feels like. He is stiff with shock beneath her, but she climbs closer into his lap, frustrated by all their clothes, their skin in the way_ — _his scent is everywhere_ — _if only she could melt into him, she might get some relief from this crushing intensity—_

 _A gasp and a yelp_ — _door slamming_ — _nonono_ — _caught_ — _she's cast away into the cold, it's over_ — _end of the world_ — _Mikoto's horror, Fugaku's accusation_ — _nothisfaultnothisfault_ — _they shout and scream, berate him, hurt him_ — _jounin-sensei, jounin-sensei, jounin-sensei_ — _shame twists through her gut—don't look—don't see—_

When Sakura came back to herself, she was screaming. She snapped her jaw shut, cold sweat standing out on her skin. She gripped the stone on all fours as though it would drop out from underneath her.

Ino scowled deeply, but there was uncertainty newly painted on her features. "Fucking  _what_? What is that supposed to mean? No one should be able to alter memories this far in. Something's wrong. And to use  _Uchiha Itachi?_ How would you even know— _who are you?"_

Sakura panted, squeezing her eyes shut, head bowed. "Please. Stop. No—!"

But Ino was gone.

Tears left damp trails down Sakura's cheeks as she sprinted blindly, desperate enough to forget to track Ino properly. She suddenly knew where this would end, and ran down a sloping corridor toward the deepest, darkest part of herself.

There she found her, well past every barricade Sakura's mind feebly erected to protect itself with. Sakura smashed through wood, clawed under chains, and threw herself against barbed wire, crying, "Please! Please, no more! Not here, I can't—"

 _Birdsong comes in through the open window. Bright light_ — _a delicate, sweet sound. She must be dreaming_ — _either the world with birdsong is real, or the nightmare with the red is. But not both. She remembers_ — _it happened at night, yet here she lies, bathed in buttery sunshine. The stickiness on the floor has long cooled; the caked-on layers are dry and cracked against her skin and hair. She burrows herself deeper between what's left of her mother and her father, thinking of that man's eyes_ — _his hard black eyes, full of rage and grief_ — _and birdsong comes in through the open window_ —

The last thing Sakura saw was Ino's eyes, blown wide with horror. The stone floor rushed up to meet her.

\- o -

"Out out  _out! Everyone get out!"_

"Ino, what—?"

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I fucked up! They were real! Kami, they were all real—I thought—just get out  _now_ so I can fix it!  _Now, dammit!"_

A door slammed, and Sakura felt hands grab her shoulders and shake her. But she couldn't see or move.

"Sakura?  _Sakura!_ Whoever-the-fuck-you-are, come back  _this instant_!"

A series of flashes and snaps followed by a powerful smell brought Sakura's vision back. She sucked in air, suddenly and overwhelmingly awake.

Pain. Too much. Drowned everything out. She curled into herself, only vaguely aware of warmth against her lower back, or a voice in her ear. Only with time did the feeling dull enough for her to hear Ino through it.

"Hey, hey, you're okay. Shhh. You're okay."

Sakura began to realize her face was buried in another person's abdomen, arms wrapped tight around a slender waist. Ino was drawing circles on her back, murmuring a stream of soft anxieties that somehow sounded soothing:

"Kami I thought I  _broke_ you I am _so sorry_  please forgive me Sakura is one of my closest friends and I thought you did something to her and your thoughts were just so unbelievable I mean whoever heard of other worlds or whatever jutsu that was this is my fault please be okay are you okay I  _know_  you're okay—"

"Y-yes—" Sakura breathed, releasing her death grip little by little. "O-okay," she managed.

Ino moaned in relief and helped disentangle herself, propping Sakura's shoulders up until she was sure the other girl wouldn't keel over.

"I am  _really_  sorry—and still confused—but I get it now—something impossible happened to you and I made a huge mistake—"

"I—yes." Speaking was hard. Sakura began to slide forward.

"No no no!" Ino yelped, catching her. "Stay with me."

Some kind of healing chakra seeped into Sakura's bones. She wasn't in physical pain, but the sensation was warm and hard to ignore. It felt nice, in a way, and it kept her aware of the existence of her body. Of herself.

Ino let out a strained, high-pitched laugh. "I've never had to apologize for an interrogation before. I guess this is a series of firsts all around." She steadied Sakura and caught her eye to make sure she was really hearing her. "I understand that you really are...someone called Sakura, from a place called Konoha, even if you're not the person I know. I don't understand what has happened, but I want you to know that I've got your back. I can't undo what I just did, but I'll try my hardest to help you."

Sakura nodded, suddenly warm and terribly sleepy.

"Sakura!" Ino prodded.

Sakura dragged her eyes open with effort. "Yes, I—I understand. Thank you."

"Can you tell me exactly what happened to you? It's important the others understand you're not an enemy. I warned them you weren't Sakura when I summoned them, but this is hardly what I meant."

Sakura, despite her own lack of understanding and her utter exhaustion, did her best to explain what she knew.

Ino continued to rub her shoulders reassuringly throughout, perhaps only to keep her awake. To Sakura, it felt like the first time she'd been touched like that in years.

\- o -

Sakura hunkered down into her blanket a bit further. It was exactly the kind she liked best: fuzzy, warm, with the right balance of softness and weight. She dimly wondered whether she had in fact chosen it herself. This was supposedly her living room, after all.

Unfortunately, even the best of blankets could not protect her from the discomfiting gazes of the shinobi around her. They may have looked like a casual group gathered together in a sitting room, but the situation was anything but friendly.

Sakura sipped her tea with still-shaking hands, glancing around uneasily. No matter how many times Ino assured her _that man_  was long gone, she refused to let her guard down. If he came within a mile of her she would sense it and bolt. Though Ino strictly forbade her from napping, her eyelids were drooping badly and she was in no condition to fight.

It was Naruto who spoke first. "Baa-chan," he started. Sakura looked around, surprised to discover he was addressing Senju, who was clearly a young woman. Yet he held her attention and continued, "As a medic-nin and her shishou, you're bound to have the best knowledge of Sakura-chan's chakra system and its abilities. Did you ever,  _ever_  notice even the tiniest sign of any—whatchamacallit?"

"Torikae," Ino supplied.

"Torikai," he finished.

"To-ri-ka- _eh_ ," Ino corrected, only to be brushed off.

Senju shook her head forcefully. "Absolutely not. I would have known ages ago."

Naruto flung his arms in the air in a gesture of exasperation. "Well, then what? If Ino says her consciousness is from-someplace like here, but not, or whatever—how do we know her body isn't too? What if it just  _looks_ like Sakura-chan's body?"

Sakura was annoyed both by the honorific and the fact that he was speaking about her as if she wasn't there at all, but she kept her lips shut tightly. She sipped her tea again.

The blonde woman turned to face her. "May I examine you?"

Sakura pulled the blanket a bit tighter around her shoulders. She put down her teacup. "I'm sorry, but I have no clue who you even  _are."_

Something almost like injury flashed across the woman's face. She cleared her throat. "My apologies. I'm the Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade. I'm a trained medic-nin, and Sakura's teacher. I promise not to hurt you. Sakura is very important to the village and to me. I just want to help figure out what happened."

Sakura supposed that matched up with what she'd learned from the census records. If Minato was long dead, surely  _someone_  had to be Hokage. Even so, she squinted in skepticism. "Senju Tsunade should be, like, almost sixty."

The blonde woman went beet red, which was not the reaction Sakura was expecting. The others looked to be suppressing laughter...poorly.

Naruto wiped tears of silent mirth from his eyes. "Baa-chan is older than she looks-the best medic-nin in the world can do that-but she's definitely Senju Tsunade. As the next Rokudaime Hokage, I can vouch for her."

Naruto in the succession line made a bit more sense, but Sakura was far from trusting. She was, however, also out of better ideas. Cooperating would be a lot easier than getting away, and they might be telling the truth about wanting to help her. Hell, maybe they would even be  _able_ to help her. Maybe this medic-nin knew things about bloodline limits that Sakura didn't. Without Danzou or Orochimaru around, Sakura had no other leads.

And she was so, so tired. More exhausted than she'd possibly ever been. Ino put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and Sakura surprised herself by leaning into its warmth rather than away.

She exhaled, letting the blanket fall from her shoulders, and faced Tsunade dead-on. "Okay. But if you try anything funny during the examination, I will  _make you_  sorry."

Eyebrows all around the room raised at the threat, spoken so matter-of-factly, but no one said a word.

"Of course," Tsunade agreed, not even hesitating before placing a confident pair of hands on Sakura's back.

The exam lasted only a few minutes—so much briefer compared to the barrage of tests BERI would have subjected her to. Still, there was utter certainty in Tsunade's voice when she announced the results: "Same body, I'm sure of it. No trace of a bloodline limit. The only detectable difference is that her chakra is flowing in an unusual pattern, concentrated in strange places. Do you access your bloodline limit through your forehead?"

Sakura nodded, a little impressed by her accuracy, but still perturbed by the idea that her own body seemed to belong to someone else entirely.

Tsunade continued, frowning thoughtfully, "That may explain why chakra keeps trying to cluster there. The build-up is inhibiting your natural flow. I bet it'll be hard for you to summon it to your hands or otherwise manipulate it until you get that under control. Worse, you've stopped maintaining your Yin seal." She looked personally sorry about the last part.

Sakura was lost. "My what, now?"

Tsunade seemed to hold back a sigh. "Sakura doesn't have a bloodline limit, but she does have a Yin seal in her forehead just like mine. It's an S-rank fuuinjutsu that can release an incredible amount of stored chakra when activated. It took her three years to save up enough chakra to form it, and far longer to master the precise control required to even begin the process. I can't know how long it will take to lose it, but unless you manage to control the chakra yourself, a slow leak is inevitable. The color is a little muted already."

Sakura reached up in surprise, touching the small raised shape on her forehead. It didn't feel like anything special. Ino fished a compact mirror out of a pocket somewhere, and Sakura's eyes widened at the realization that there indeed was a diamond shape in the middle of her forehead. It was identical to Tsunade's, in fact.

That was pretty strong corroborating evidence. Sakura found herself almost believing her working theory. Could the Torikae really have swapped her  _mind_  for one similar in nature from another world, leaving her body behind? That would explain so much, including her inability to use her regular jutsu, but wasn't a mind fundamentally different from matter?

Just what kind of technique  _was_  the Torikae, anyway? Sakura seemed to understand it less with each passing day.

"It's not a problem," Naruto said, bringing Sakura back from her thoughts. "We'll have her back to normal way before then. If she says using her bloodline limit on herself got her here, she'll just have to use it to put things back the way they were."

"I can't," Sakura said, doing an admirable job of mustering up what little dignity she had left. "My ordinary ninjutsu doesn't work as it normally would, but at least I get a response. With the Torikae, nothing. My chakra does absolutely nothing."

Naruto hesitated only a moment before offering her a sympathetic glance. "That's fine, don't worry about it. You've got us to help." He turned to address the group. "Since she won't let Kaka-sensei near her, baa-chan can train her until she can use the Torukae—"

"Torikae," Ino insisted.

" _Whatever._ Baa-chan can teach her anything if Sakura-chan works hard enough, just like old times. Right?"

Sasuke snorted, breaking his silence. "Are you daft? Even if Tsunade could teach something like that, you can't just  _learn_ a bloodline limit."

Naruto frowned. "Why not? If she knows it in another world, why couldn't she know it here, too?"

Sasuke sighed. "It's  _genetic_. If it's not in her genes, her body simply can't use it no matter how much she practices. Could I just teach you the Sharingan? And Sakura's parents aren't even shinobi."

Sakura would have taken a nice long moment to meditate on the thought that her family members were apparently  _not even shinobi,_ but Naruto wasn't finished.

"Well, maybe it  _is_  in her genes. Regular civilians have gone on to form shinobi clans in the past, so at least  _some_ of them must carry genes for stuff like bloodline limits," Naruto shot back, defensive. He looked to Tsunade. "Uh, is Sakura's family one of them?"

Tsunade was affronted. "I'm a medic-nin, for crying out loud! I've been a bit busy saving lives, running a village, and ending a war. We don't all know every specialized field. What you need is a geneticist."

Ino frowned. "Umm...where can we find one of  _those?"_

Tsunade crossed her arms across her chest, resignation on her face. "There's only one in all of Fire country, so I guess we're lucky he moved back here after the war. But who the hell knows if he'll agree to help."

Naruto's jaw was set. "I'll make sure of it."

Sakura looked on, skeptical.

\- o -

Even though they were up and walking across town, Ino still had to prod Sakura repeatedly to make sure she didn't fall asleep on her feet ("No shut-eye for another couple hours. Not unless you  _enjoy_  trauma-induced consciousness damage, thank you! Move along!"). But the longer Sakura forced her eyelids open, the less coherent her thoughts became. She could feel her willpower to accomplish anything other than climbing into bed diminishing, which was dangerous. There'd be no one left to fight for her interests if Sakura herself went mentally limp.

Well, there might be one person. Sakura looked down blearily at Ino's hand dragging her own along, too exhausted to object. If the girl wanted to consider herself a friend in order to assuage her guilt or whatever, that was fine with Sakura.

At this point, she was maybe a little grateful that someone even cared to help her avoid trauma-induced-brain-whatever at all, regardless of the reason.

Said gratitude promptly evaporated when they reached their destination. Suddenly more alert, Sakura pulled her hand from Ino's grip and started backing away.

"No thanks," she groaned. "I'll just. Wait here."

The others paused in confusion. For some reason, Sasuke was the first to understand. He mumbled something to the others, and Sakura felt her ears heat up as their expressions settled somewhere between awkwardness and pity. It was the same awful look Sakura would have received from her own team, should they ever have had business in Konoha's orphanage.

She wasn't surprised Ino had told them everything. At least it would make her objections more persuasive, and she was used to this kind of humiliatingly delicate treatment.

"I really think you should be part of this conversation," Tsunade began.

Sakura was desperate. Before she could consider her words, they burst from her mouth to take even her by surprise:

"Where is Itachi?" she pleaded reflexively.

Ino's spine went ramrod stiff, but the others just looked bewildered. Sakura was privately grateful that apparently Ino hadn't told them  _everything_  after all.

Sasuke was the one who stared at her hardest, thoughts visibly churning behind dark eyes. "Why don't you all go in and bring him out here? I'll wait with her."

Ino looked like she had something to say about this arrangement, but was swept away by the others. Once they disappeared into the building, Sasuke led the way to a bench off to the side of the street. Sakura helped herself to a seat beside him, wondering what this rather quiet, mysterious version of Sasuke might be planning. He clearly maneuvered the situation in order to speak to her alone—but he'd also managed to spare her from having to actually see the orphanage, so perhaps there was a degree of kindness beneath the gruffness. Too early to tell.

They sat together, people-watching for a moment, before Sasuke got to the point. "Itachi is dead."

Sakura looked at him with deepest disgust. "Not funny. What's wrong with you?" Her Sasuke's sense of humor may be childish at times, be he would never be so tactless. She immediately resented the change.

"I was there when it happened," he insisted, perfectly calm. "A combination of injury and disease, though my brother surely believed the latter to be some kind of karmic justice for his sins."

"What are you  _babbling_  about?" Sakura snapped, jumping up from the bench to put more distance between them. She glared down at Sasuke, stone-faced, and repeated herself. "Itachi is  _fine_."

Sasuke didn't flinch from her glare, more interested in watching two children playing on the other side of the street. One little girl covered her eyes and counted while the bigger girl hid. But the older one was careful not to stay out of sight for too long, always popping out just before the younger could get scared and start crying.

"Perhaps where you're from he is. It makes me happy to think that—more than you can know. But you shouldn't confuse separate histories. You don't have the right to deny my loss, or my pain. You might understand it more than you realize, though. I lost my entire clan, too."

Sakura went cold, unable to believe her ears. Unprompted, Sasuke told his story.

By the time he was done, the minutes had crawled by over what felt like hours, and the children had grown bored of hide-and-seek. Sakura stared at their leapfrog attempts without really seeing them. She turned to Sasuke, face devoid of expression.

"Fuck you."

He didn't react, so she continued. "I'm sorry that happened to you. And yes, I  _get it_ , okay? But that's nothing like my situation, and you equating them is nothing short of offensive. My clan's killer is not my relative, and he's certainly not some noble martyr. He was not motivated by any secret agenda of goodwill. Some people are just born with—with darkness in them, or insanity, and he more than deserves every ounce of suffering that I will inflict on him when I catch him. You might be the first person I've ever met who can understand my loss, but you know  _nothing_ of the need for vengeance."

Sasuke was silent.

Sakura's fury mounted at the sight of his unblinking eyes, still fixed on the children. "I don't know what kind of fucked up world you live in, but Danzou is a respected scientist, not a madman. My clan enjoyed a prominent place in Konoha's government and a comfortable lifestyle long before they were slaughtered. Imagining some secret coup d'etat to seize even more power is beyond ridiculous. There is not always some redeeming logic for mass murder. And, most obviously,  _Itachi is not dead."_

Sasuke was not in the least upset by the vehemence of her response, which only made her angrier. His gaze finally flickered in her direction, something like curiosity on his face. "Who was my brother to you?"

"' _Was?'"_ Sakura growled, teeth bared. Before she could respond, however, the doors of the orphanage burst open. A man she'd never seen before with white hair, glasses, and strangely serpentine eyes was frog-marched toward them by a rather ruffled Tsunade. The Godaime gave him a push toward Sasuke once they reached the bench.

"Well, Kabuto, you explain to  _him_ why you don't want to help," Tsunade barked.

The man's expression shifted rather dramatically upon seeing Sasuke. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and held up apologetic hands. "Look, it's not that I don't  _want_  to help. I understand that your situation must be frustrating, and I admit that on an intellectual level, I am—curious—about exactly what might have happened here," he said, with a surreptitious glance toward Sakura. "But my way of helping the village now is to dedicate myself to running the orphanage. I've sworn off genetic experimentation. You helped me understand who I truly am, and that person is better than the one who did those kinds of things. I never intend to go back to that. Forgive me."

A very pink-faced Naruto looked like he had some choice words to say to that, but Sasuke's hand on his shoulder quieted him.

"I understand," Sasuke said, to general surprise.

"What?! But—" Naruto blustered, until Sasuke cut him off again.

"I really do understand, but no one is asking you to change. You of all people should know that a person isn't defined by what they do. We just want you to use skills from your past to help a friend. If you're really someone who helps those who need it most, you'll help her, too."

Conflict was etched across Kabuto's face.

"My brother helped you," Sasuke reminded him before he could respond. "Then you helped me. I'm asking you now: please help her."

Sakura's feelings had just done rather a lot of flip-flopping in the past few minutes regarding Sasuke. She had plenty of questions, but kept her focus on Kabuto, whose attention was now fixated on her. His eyes were snake-like, but not unkind.

"You're in quite a bind, aren't you?" he mused.

Sakura nodded, aware her fatigue must be showing on her face. "Yes. I do need help. Badly. I wish I had something to offer you in return besides my gratitude."

Kabuto waved that off. "I didn't start working at an orphanage because of what others can do for me. And if what they're saying is accurate, you're something of an orphan yourself, in several senses." He paused to think, turning toward Tsunade. "I would need some equipment. Is there a lab with a centrifuge available in the hospital?"

Tsunade beamed.

\- o -

The tiny basement lab was disappointingly simple. A handful of science-y instruments lined a table—other than the microscope, Sakura had no idea what they were for. There was a deep sink with an eyewash station, a fridge with a freezer, and a closet full of extra equipment. It also housed a large pile of disorganized textbooks, some bottled liquids, plus some white coats and safety goggles. When Sakura found herself daydreaming of snatching a coat for a makeshift blanket, she realized she was certifiably loopy, and would need to find a bed very soon regardless of Ino's opinion.

Kabuto got straight to business. He grabbed a test tube off a rack and added a pale solution to it. She was not entirely prepared for him to walk purposefully toward her with a scalpel in one hand and a dropper of mineral oil in the other, but managed to restrain her reflex to attack once she realized he only wanted to scrape a skin sample from her elbow. He added two kinds of powder to the test tube, then pulled on gloves.

"What are you doing?" Sakura heard herself ask when he poured liquid from a smoking flask into the solution.

Kabuto blinked at her like he'd forgotten others were in the room. "Basic DNA extraction. I'm precipitating the sample in ethanol. Really cold ethanol," he added, seeing her expression.

"I see." She nodded as if she knew what he was talking about.

He lifted the lid of a tabletop machine that sort of resembled a record player, placing the test tube on a rack inside. A few button-presses later, and the machine whirred to life, spinning the solution rapidly in circles to separate out the denser material. Once finished, Kabuto removed a pellet of clumped white stuff from the tube and left it to air dry, going to the sink to put a kettle on to boil over a burner. It wasn't until he'd begun passing out cups to everyone that Sakura concluded he had paused the microbiology part and was now making tea.

Kabuto peered at Sakura over his glasses, pushing them up the bridge of his nose again. "I'm familiar with the so-called 'multiverse theory', but have never in my life encountered evidence for it before," he began conversationally, sipping his drink. "You really claim to be from another world?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't claim to be anything. Other than not-from-here."

"Hmm. Yet the Yamanaka says you arrived through a combination of a bloodline limit accident and some kind of celestial event?"

Ino cleared her throat loudly. "Name's Ino. Thanks."

"Sorry. Ino," Kabuto amended absentmindedly, staring at Sakura.

"I really don't know. Yes, I used the Torikae in an atypical way, and yes, there was a meteor shower. But there was also a full moon," she reiterated. "And my clan believes the moon amplifies our powers. I just don't know what's related and what isn't."

Kabuto sipped his tea. "It's interesting, but you know it doesn't make any sense whatsoever, right?"

Feeling a bit baited, Sakura was about to level a glare when he abruptly turned back to his work. Mounting the sample under a glass slide using yet another liquid, he pulled up a microscope and peered in.

He jotted down a few notes, looking back and forth between microscope and notebook for a couple minutes, periodically checking a thick reference book. Eventually he called Tsunade over.

"See for yourself—chromosomal location DL4506."

Tsunade peered through the microscope. "This is the strain where bloodline limits typically present?"

"Correct," Kabuto said, removing his glasses and polishing them on his shirt. "Congratulations, Sakura. You've got the genotype for some bloodline limit or other, if not the phenotype."

Sakura did not dare to breathe. "You mean there's a possibility I could learn the Torikae after all?"

"Not a chance," Kabuto answered smoothly. "Having genes for it is nice and all, but what's the point if they never get expressed?"

"Expressed?"

Kabuto struggled to find the right words. "Imagine a closet that exists before you're born. It contains all the clothes you might ever wear, but only your parents get to pick your selection of outfits from it. Well, your parents and the environment, but let's not overcomplicate the analogy—"

Naruto squinted hard. "What happens to the rest of the clothes that weren't picked?"

"They stay in the closet. You'll always have them in there, but after a certain point you can't wear them," Kabuto answered.

"So, in this body, the Torikae is like an outfit that didn't get picked? It's stuck in the closet forever, where I can't use it?" Sakura asked, knuckles white.

"Correct. Well, normally," Kabuto amended, looking like he immediately regretted the aside.

" _Normally?"_ Ino echoed, voice thick with everyone's question.

"I mean, not unless you start making...modifications," Kabuto mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. "Which is exactly the kind of rabbit hole I was hoping to avoid when I agreed to help—"

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Naruto interrupted, holding up a hand. "You're saying it  _is_  possible for her to use the bloodline limit, then? She just needs to get—whatever it is you used to do to people in your lab—done to her?"

Kabuto's pale skin began to flush.  _"I_  don't do anything to anyone in any lab. Not anymore." Naruto opened his mouth, but Kabuto shook his head first. "You don't understand. Even if I wanted to pursue this research—which I categorically  _do not_ —it's impossible here. This lab is woefully under-equipped for human genetic engineering of such a scope." He turned to Tsunade. "I'm telling the truth. You'd need—at minimum—an entire library, access to journals, a thermocycler, autoclave, multiple centrifuges, freezers with different temperature settings, an incubator—"

Tsunade cut him off, looking solemn. "Stop. I agree. We're not equipped for that here, and human experiments are hardly permissible under Konoha's current bylaws anyway. I was afraid it might come to this, but—"

"I would not recommend it," Kabuto said shrilly. "Just give her a comfortable life here. She'll adapt in time. It's the kinder option."

"Would not recommend  _what?_ " Naruto pressed, only to be roundly ignored by both of them.

"I don't necessarily disagree, Kabuto, but it's not our decision—" Tsunade began.

"You think a stranger to this world would be capable of giving informed consent when faced with a choice like this? Look, Tsunade-sama, even if she  _did_ undergo successful genetic modification—which is itself quite a stretch to imagine—it's entirely likely that wouldn't be enough to activate her bloodline limit in a way that would accurately replicate whatever phenomena sent her here. Given the other variables she described at that moment, there could be any number of factors involved. Say the moon really  _was_  affecting her technique. Forget just trying the Torikae under the full moon and its other phases—what if something or other in the meteor shower contributed? There could be countless elements and minerals at play, some of which may not even be typically found on this  _planet_. Unless she has some prior knowledge or experience with otherworldly elements that come from space bodies—"

Sakura sucked in a breath, remembering something.

Kabuto actually rolled his eyes. "You've got to be kidding—"

"What is it, Sakura?" Ino pressed.

Sakura shook her head. Her exhaustion and desperation for hope were combining to create leaps of the imagination that made no sense. "It's nothing. I just pictured this small bit of—black metal, or something—I encountered earlier the day it happened. It reacted with my chakra in a way that got my attention, but I'm sure it was nothing. Meteors are made of rock anyway, right?"

"If they land, they're meteorites, not meteors," Kabuto snipped, "but yes, some are 'stony' types. Others are 'iron' types, and include metals. Still others are 'stony-iron' types, which—"

Sakura's brow furrowed at the memory of the marble her team had stolen from Suna: its weight in her hand, that oddly opaque color, and especially the way holding it made her want to try injecting chakra into it. "How would I know whether a particular material was reacting with my chakra, or my Torikae?"

Kabuto laughed sharply. "Only by  _endlessly testing it_. I fear you're all missing my point—even if you could use your bloodline limit this instant, the degree of testing you'd have to endure to recreate the circumstances is absurd, and you may well end up never reaching a conclusion anyway."

Naruto scoffed. "So we're supposed to just give up? Let our teammate stay trapped in another world? What kind of people do you think we are?"

"The reasonable kind, I'd hoped," Kabuto insisted, shaking his head. "Considering the alternative, I'm telling you, giving up is the  _kindest option."_

" _What alternative?"_  Naruto bellowed, taking a step closer to Kabuto.

Tsunade got between them, putting up both hands. "Enough!" The power of her voice cowed everyone in the room, but she looked straight at Sakura. "It'll have to be your decision, ultimately."

Sakura swallowed, but was relieved that Tsunade at least was willing to respect her agency. "What exactly are my choices?"

Tsunade sighed. "To give up, as Kabuto suggested. Naruto will be Hokage shortly, but I wouldn't bet on him kicking you out anytime soon. We could do our best to integrate you into the village. You could have a comfortable enough life here, if you wanted to, though you're not a replacement for Sakura and everyone here would miss her for the rest of our lives. I'm sure you'd feel the same about your loved ones. But at least you'd be alive, and about as safe as a shinobi can be."

Sakura shut her eyes, thinking of the woman who wasn't truly her mother—and who seemed to hate her—but maybe with time...But she was unable to forget Sasuke's earlier words echoing through her head:  _"Itachi is dead."_

She opened her eyes to meet Tsunade's. "And the alternative option?"

Tsunade exhaled heavily. "You could seek out Orochimaru."

Sakura's eyes grew round with sheer, unexpected delight. "Orochimaru is alive? Why didn't anyone tell me earlier!? This is fantastic news!"

She was hit with multiples stares ranging from shocked, to repulsed, to downright horrified. She backed up a step. "Unless...I'm missing something?"

Every person in the room groaned.

\- o -

The sun had long set, but the comforting scent of broth and carbs combined with the warm bodies packed tightly around the table kept away the chill. Dinner at the ramen-ya-that-should've-been-Kagaya, however, was not quite sufficient to keep Sakura awake. She began to droop dangerously forward.

Ino elbowed her, pushing her barely-touched bowl of ramen toward her. "Just a little longer. To be on the safe side. You can totally knock out as soon as you're home."

Sakura nodded sleepily, aiming another spoonful toward her mouth in the hope that Ino would stop looking at her like that. The constant babble of low arguing floating around their table was weirdly helpful: it was grating on her nerves and keeping her up. Nevertheless, Sakura was increasingly resentful.

"—how the  _hell_  would we force someone like that to help—"

"—even more stupid than it is dangerous—"

"— _your face_ is stupid—"

"—take forever to even  _find_  the guy, assuming he's still alive—"

"—what did you say to me?"

"— _willingly_  let her walk into his lab and let him do anything—"

"—blackmail, bribery, force, so many options—"

"—insane, we can't  _blackmail_ Orochi—"

"Stop!" Sakura shouted, slamming her spoon down onto the table. Naruto, Ino, and Sasuke looked up in shock, Tsunade having already gone home for the night.

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, basking in the quiet for a moment. She took a breath. "You are arguing about a proposed mission that only I have been given authority over by the acting Hokage. I've not decided whether to go, or what the scope of said mission may entail. But all decisions relating to it are up to me. Every one of you is out of order."

They gaped like fish. Sakura did not see what was so hard to understand here. She pressed on: "Now. Before I say anything else,  _if_ a proposed mission were to take a team outside of Konoha to find Orochimaru, who is this 'we' you all keep assuming is going?"

Naruto closed his mouth and opened it again. Clearing his throat, he found his voice. "It should be Team Seven, but—would you let Kaka-sensei come without trying to kill him all the time? I mean, this is a different world, and he never did anything to you here, or your family, and he'd want to help—"

"No."

Even Ino raised a perturbed brow. "Sakura, I get it, but that's just not fair, he's a different—"

"I don't care. How would I know you're not all idiots for trusting him? He's guilty of having the same face, and I will kill him for it the moment I get the chance. He should consider himself lucky that I'm not actively chasing him down, and if you care about him you'll keep him the fuck away from me."

Two sets of eyebrows disappeared into hairlines. Only Sasuke was unsurprised, quietly slurping his noodles.

The sound of ramen being eaten seemed to help Naruto snap out of it. "Okay. No Kakashi. But Team Seven still cares about Sakura-chan the most. So me, you, and Sasuke-teme. He knows Orochimaru the best, but so does Yamato, who's worked with us in the past. Maybe he can come as captain in Kaka-sensei's place again—"

"Back up," Ino interrupted. "How do you expect to be Hokage if you're off searching for Orochimaru? Who knows how long that could take?"

Naruto's ears turned pink. "You think I can focus on running a village while Sakura-chan is stuck in another world? Baa-chan's retirement is delayed anyway after Sakura-chan's...mistake," he stumbled, shooting a furtive glance at Sakura, who vaguely wondered if he was also referring to whatever hospital incident others kept delicately mentioning. "She'd definitely agree to stay on a little longer if there's any chance it might help Sakura-chan come back. It's not like we're at war, the village will be fine for a bit."

Ino glowered. "So you plan to just leave me here alone? Sakura is my friend too, and she says she can't use her regular techniques. You're gonna drag a defenseless person to see one of the most dangerous people in the world without a medic-nin on your team? I could wind up saving any of your lives."

"Taking five people hugely increases our risk of being seen," Naruto shot back. "There's a reason we traditionally take four."

Sakura shook her head. "You're both right. If locating Orochimaru may take a while, there's no time to waste. Meaning, if this mission happens, I'll have to train while traveling, which will be a challenge. If medic-nin are available, it only makes sense to take one until I'm back on my A-game. But I refuse to bring more than four shinobi."

Naruto huffed. "But if we leave Yamato and Kaka-sensei, we won't have a captain—"

"Does Sasuke even  _want_  to come?" Ino pressed. "Why not leave him and take me?"

Sasuke looked up from his bowl. "I do," he said, with a steady gaze in Sakura's direction.

"What's the nature of your relationship with Orochimaru?" Sakura asked, interest piqued from previous comments.

Sasuke sipped his soup. "It's complicated. I can explain later, if you like. But it gives me some advantages in predicting him."

"That's fine," Sakura said, indifferent. "Everyone present can come, then. I think I can work with this group."

"Okay, okay," Naruto said, recovering. "No problem. If Yamato can't come, I'll be captain then."

Ino choked on her noodles. "Naruto, you are  _not_ responsible enough to be captain—"

"Are you kidding? I'm about to be in charge of the entire village—!"

" _Enough,"_ Sakura growled, silencing them. She took a mouthful of noodles and held their gazes, making everyone wait until she'd slurped up the ends to continue. She swallowed. "I'm the captain. This affects me the most. If you don't like my leadership, resign your position immediately. Any objections?"

Stunned silence met her ears. Sweet, sweet silence. Sakura sighed into her bowl, finally feeling satisfied. She elaborated:

"You have one day to deliberate. Naruto, get your Hokage shit sorted in that time. And get us clearance, I have no idea what procedure is around here. Ino, let me know if you need me to sign off on anything when prepping medical supplies. Take care of our other supplies too, I can't assume I know where anything is stored. I'll need a good katana. Anyone has other requests, send them to Ino. I have some personal business to take care of tomorrow, but will be available for questions in the evening. Sasuke, I need to consult with you tomorrow before designing a full plan—I have questions about Orochimaru. And Sunagakure. Reconvene here in twenty-four hours and—if I've decided we're going—I'll brief you. If you don't show, I understand, but you're booted from the mission permanently. We leave no later than forty-eight hours from now. Everyone clear?"

Three dazed faces nodded vaguely in her direction.

"Address me as 'taichou'," Sakura prompted, suppressing a yawn.

"Uh...yes, taichou...?" came the mumbled, awkward responses. It would have to do for now.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino shared a glance that suggested it was finally sinking in that this Sakura truly was quite different from their own.

When they looked back at her, their new captain had fallen asleep face down at the table, hair trailing in her bowl of ramen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: If you happen to be an actual scientist, chemistry teacher, or medical practitioner, please pray for my wannabe soul. I did my best.


	7. The Great Gig in the Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note-before-the-author's-note: Welp. Thanks to an intrepid reviewer I realized I saved this chap as a draft instead of posting it last night like I intended. I'm the worst?
> 
> Author's note-take-two: Weeeeeell I reposted the wrong chapter in my haste. Should I just quit now?
> 
> Author's Note (original): Second part of the double update. I thought about adding more for the longest time because this chapter is so short, but I don't think it truly needs it. This chapter will conclude Act I and begin the middle arc, so I'm nervous to post it. Endless thanks to Girl-chama and SomebodyLost for betaing, I never would have had the courage to post it without your wisdom and support.

**Spaces Between Stars**

**Chapter 7: The Great Gig in the Sky**

_**[Canon-Saku, AU-verse]** _

\- o -

Unfortunately for Sakura, her new resolution to listen to Naruto and Sasuke meant she had to  _actually listen to them_. Even when the 'help' they suggested was training. With Itachi.

"No," he snapped, squeezing his eyes shut briefly. "If you don't pace yourself correctly on the inhale, you'll never control the intensity of exhalation. You should fill the bottom of the lungs with air first, because it has a much greater—"

"Capacity than the top, I  _know_ ,  _I am a medic-nin_ ," Sakura repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.

Itachi was unimpressed. "I respect that, but if you continue to rely on it as an excuse to avoid mastering your normal jutsu, we will get nowhere, and you will remain defenseless."

She was tempted to object to his questionable—and presumptuous—use of the word 'normal', but refrained. Barely. She grit her teeth.

"Just show me again," she demanded. "Please," she added, a gesture of goodwill.

He sighed, but demonstrated: upright spine, eyes forward, feet slightly apart. Quick hand seals, followed by a deep breath rolling upward through the lungs to smoothly eject fire into the air.

Sakura tried again. Upright spine, eyes forward, feet slightly apart. Slower hand seals, still clumsy with unfamiliarity, followed by a deep breath rolling upward through the lungs. The alien sensation of chakra pooling in her chest almost made her gasp and ruin her inhalation once again, but she was expecting it this time and didn't choke. Unlike her own techniques, ninjutsu was at least familiar to this body; it her was her brain that had no idea what to expect. The burning was far more intense than previously, which would have given her pause, but the pressure to exhale was overwhelming—

Sakura blew out an enormous fireball as Itachi ducked for cover. Far downwind the training field, Naruto and Sasuke froze mid-spar to stare at her, their eyebrows charred. A long path of charred grass connected them, smoke curling into the air.

Sakura coughed awkwardly, throat raw. "Um. Sorry."

Itachi sat down in the remaining grass and shook his head, looking forlorn as a sculptor after someone took a sledgehammer to his life's work. "That's worse. You're unpredictable. That's worse than lacking ability. You could injure a teammate, injure yourself, jeopardize a mission objective, provide an enemy with a weakness to exploit—"

Sakura growled in frustration, interrupting the rant. "Itachi, I'm not here to go on missions! I just want to go  _home_. Can't we just focus on the Torikae—on the thing that will actually fix everything?"

He nodded tiredly. "You're assuming too much, but yes, I agree that's what we should do. That's why you need to relearn ninjutsu, or your medical techniques at the very least."

Sakura stared expectantly. When no elaboration was forthcoming, she consciously had to try to lower her blood pressure. "So, are you just going to leave me to flounder in the dark and guess at the connection between ninjutsu and the Torikae, or are you going to say something actually useful?"

He was deep in consideration for a moment before meeting her eyes. Then he looked away.

This time, instead of getting angry, Sakura plopped herself down next to him. She felt him stiffen in surprise, but he didn't stir. They sat like that for a moment, not speaking, watching the treetops rustle with squirrels in the distance.

Then Sakura reached over and sucker punched him in the gut.

There was very little chakra in it, but Sakura's knowledge of anatomy gave her exceptional accuracy. Itachi choked, doubling over, the wind knocked clean from his lungs. She sat listening to his gasps, neither angry nor vindicated.

"You know why you didn't see that coming?" she asked, knowing he wouldn't be able to answer until he got his breath back. She paused politely all the same. "It's because you don't know anything about me. Of course you can't predict me. I'm a stranger."

He continued to struggle for air, but she was patient. His lungs would refill soon enough. She continued: "It's also understandable that you hate me. You love her, and you lost her. And instead you've got me, an unpredictable stranger occupying her body, confusing everything. You love her, and  _all of you_  know it, but no one will acknowledge it because of  _politics._ If nothing else, I was right about one thing—this village  _is_  full of cowards."

She could hear his breathing beginning to stabilize and knew she needed to wrap this up. "But I get it. I get why you don't trust me or talk to me, given all that. But I hope that punch reminded you that not trusting me won't protect you. We are on the same side whether we trust each other or not—apparently this team is the  _only_  one who even wants her back for the right reasons—and we'll just have to get to know each other until we trust one another. And the only way to do that is to  _talk._  I already promised Naruto and Sasuke I would do my best to open up, and now I'll promise you, too. _"_

He coughed a final time before sitting up. His eyes were tinged red from the force of his hacks, but they met hers with new resolve. His expression was a mix of caution and clarity, as though he was really only seeing her for the first time now. "I am deeply sorry for striking you before. There is no excuse for that, and I've never been more ashamed of anything in my life."

Sakura bit back her surprise. "Uh, I guess my chosen method of making my point is not  _totally_  unrelated to that," she hedged, considering. "I am still pretty livid, and I don't forgive you yet."

"I didn't ask you to."

"Well, I guess you don't have to forgive me for punching you, then."

They sat for another long moment, lapsing into silence. But it was no longer an uncomfortable kind. The sounds of Naruto and Sasuke sparring in the distance were almost soothing. A shared familiarity. Eventually, Itachi spoke up again.

"There's a secret vault outside Konoha."

Sakura turned to look at him, brow furrowed. "What?"

"A Haruno vault. Sakura doesn't think anyone knows about it but us. The location is vague, but it's mentioned in the family record books she keeps hidden in her armory. I'd hoped if you learned enough ninjutsu to defend yourself, our team could leave Konoha and search for it."

Sakura had to take her time to absorb all that. "What do you think is inside?"

Itachi exhaled. "I have no idea. Information about the Torikae, I hope—especially its effects on humans, and its relationship to celestial events. Anything might help. Even if you mastered the Torikae tomorrow, I can't imagine reversing it will be as easy as we wish."

She frowned at that, having quashed the same fear for some time. They had no choice but to try. "Um, wouldn't leaving Konoha just to help me get my mind sorted be going directly against the Board?"

He nodded. "It would."

"Oh," Sakura said, blowing out a breath. "I guess I have to take back what I said about you being a coward, then. You really must love her."

The fatigue etched in the lines under his eyes was deep. "Please don't tell anyone. It can only cause grief."

Sakura was beginning to feel genuinely sorry for him. For all of them, really. This Konoha may not have suffered from foreign wars, but its internal battles seemed to leave scars on its citizens that were just as profound in their own way.

"I won't tell."

\- o -

Naruto and Sasuke nearly knocked Sakura over in their eagerness to get into her house. Itachi didn't gasp, attempt to intervene, or otherwise treat her like she was made of glass. Sakura raised her brows in approval at him before turning accusing eyes on the other two.

"You're just going to leave them there like that?" she asked, glancing pointedly at the shinobi sandals that had been haphazardly thrown in the general direction of the shoe rack.

Both looked suitably abashed. "Always with the least welcome similarities," Sasuke muttered, not without a trace of bitterness. But he did put his shoes away neatly.

Before she could reply, he'd dashed straight for the kitchen. The sound of the refrigerator door opening, then immediately closing, puzzled her.

A head of black hair peeked around the wall and into the foyer. "Uh, I guess I should ask...can we still eat your food?"

Sakura shrugged. "It's, like, not my food?"

Naruto hesitated en route to the kitchen himself. "Yeah, but everything in this house is kinda under your care for the time being. So...can we eat it?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Just do whatever you normally do."

Two victorious expressions flashed before they disappeared in a hurry. Interest piqued, Sakura padded after them into the kitchen, Itachi following behind her.

To her surprise, the fridge was stocked full of—well, everything. "Is all this for one person?" she asked, watching in awe as Naruto and Sasuke tore through multiple containers of leftovers.

Naruto laughed. "Nah. Sakura loves to cook so she always makes enough for the rest of us, too."

Sakura's eyes were round. "She can  _cook?"_

"Oh yeah," Sasuke said, stuffing his face without bothering to warm it up. "She's the best. Learned from her dad." He swallowed. "Can't you?"

"Of course," Sakura replied, cheeks pink. She caught Itachi's amused look, as though he somehow  _knew_ she was lying. "Well, enough food. We're here for business," she bristled, brushing past them and moving through the dining room toward the stairs.

Taking advantage of a moment to herself, Sakura explored the second floor: multiple bedrooms; one bathroom with a fancy claw foot tub, another a traditional ofuro; a small library with a balcony looking out onto the roofs of the rest of the complex. The view would have been lovely if the buildings weren't so damaged from weather and neglect.

Sakura stumbled across the weapons' room last. Her eyes widened with envy. Could other Sakura really use all these exotic tools effectively?

Could this body? Could  _she?_

The door creaked open behind her before she could pursue the thought further. The three boys filed in, looking fed and happy. Itachi wasted no time weaving through the stacks of weapons to reach the bed against the wall. He dropped to his knees and groped beneath it, pulling out a box and laying the items inside carefully on the bed.

Feeling a little bit like an intruder but overcome by curiosity, Sakura made her way over to check out her counterpart's stuff while Itachi was inexplicably studying the empty bottom of the box. She browsed the photo album on top first. The faces of her parents were uncannily identical; grandparents too. Other Sakura had countless other relatives that simply didn't exist in her world, however. There were several younger siblings, aunts and uncles, and what looked to be a hilarious number of cousins. The Haruno clearly had well-established family rituals—the pictures were often taken at special ceremonies, everyone in formal dress, enviable banquet table peeking out from the backdrop. What the occasions were for, she couldn't possibly imagine. She gently put the album aside.

A very old but well-kept kunai caught her eye next—especially the Uchiha symbol engraved on the front of its wooden box. She lifted it carefully, mindful of its sharpness. After attempting katon earlier, she was able to recognize the warm sensation coursing through her as the response of fire-natured chakra in her system.

"Does Sakura have a natural affinity for fire? Or did she learn it?" she asked.

Itachi replied, but didn't take his focus off the empty box. "Her natural affinity is earth, but she's become even more proficient with fire over time. She can use every basic elemental release except lightning."

"Wow," Sakura said, unable to hide her admiration. Of herself. What gives?

"One of her greatest strengths is how good a student she is," Naruto explained. "She's flexible and can pick up on many things as long as she has solid instruction."

"Never could learn genjutsu from our taichou, though," Sasuke noted, needling Itachi, who frowned.

Interesting. Sakura considered herself to be a particularly competent student, having been top of her class during her Academy years, and later earning a coveted spot as Tsunade's apprentice. Kakashi had been so preoccupied trying to corral Sasuke and Naruto when they were young that she couldn't help but wonder what  _she_ might have learned if she'd had undivided attention. Would she also know multiple elemental releases? Kakashi had long ago mentioned she was a genjutsu type, but never pursued it. How odd that other Sakura, who seemed as skilled a student as herself, couldn't learn genjutsu from someone as proficient as Itachi.

"She clearly had no trouble picking up a little fuuinjutsu, either," Itachi noted dryly, giving up on the box. "I can't do anything with this. Naruto, can you manage?"

"Yes, taichou," the blond responded immediately, setting to work. Sakura let out an impressed breath when a seal appeared from nowhere beneath his hands. A few moments later, the ostensibly empty bottom gave way to a hidden chamber. Naruto grinned at Sakura. "I taught her that one."

Itachi lifted out three bulky tomes, ancient covers worn and faded. All four huddled together as he paged through them. They were definitely records. The handwritten script was so old and stylized it was difficult to understand.

"Have you read all of them?" Sakura asked the group in general, struggling to make heads or tails of anything.

"I've read parts," Itachi responded slowly, trying to find a specific section. "Most of them seem to be in partial code. Not even Sakura can read them fully."

"Oh," she replied, disappointed. "But you think maybe the vault...?"

"Holds a key to the code? We can only hope," he said grimly.

Naruto's blond brow furrowed. "If we can't read it, how are we supposed to know where the vault  _is_?"

"Here," Itachi announced, finally stopping. "There are directions of a sort. But they're not simple."

A beautifully inked map of the shinobi world sprawled across two pages. Sakura was relieved to note that it was reasonably familiar despite its age and existence in another world. That certainly simplified things.

"Is this still accurate?" she checked.

"Just about," Naruto replied. "A few minor countries have been created since then, but the five great shinobi nations are about the same size and position today."

She nodded. "My world looks similar. But Fire country is separated from Earth to the northwest and Wind to the southwest by River Country...and these two lands housing Amegakure and Kusagakure," she offered, gesturing to the unlabeled spaces between the three nations.

"That seems to be the case here as well," Sasuke pointed out, "except the Hidden Villages of Rain and Grass didn't exist yet. The unnamed land they're part of looks similar in size to what it is today, at least."

Sakura frowned. "Not only are those two villages not marked, there's no indication of where the Haruno vault might be hidden." She looked up at Itachi. "What makes you think this is even a map there?"

Itachi pointed to the tiny script in the map's corner—two haiku using modern-enough kanji. She had to squint to make out the first:

_Between wind and fire_

_Connecting earth and water_

_Rain falls unnoticed_

Right beneath it was a second:

_The howl of a wolf_

_Lightning opens the earth's heart_

_Companions part ways_

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stared for a good long minute before Sasuke voiced their collective frustration:

"The fuck does that mean?"

Itachi hummed. "We're far from sure, but Sakura and I speculate the first haiku represents the location, and the second how to get inside it."

Naruto drew his brows together. "I don't understand."

"'Between wind and fire, connecting earth and water'...it could mean geography. Assuming River Country instead of Water Country proper, Amegakure would literally be in the middle of them all. The word 'unnoticed' suggests something hidden there."

"Would Amegakure have even existed? It's not listed on the map," Sasuke pressed.

"No. But the land itself would still have been exceptionally rainy. Instead of going by the boundaries of specific countries, if you only consider the unique elemental features they're defined by—many bodies of water in River, the heat of Fire, the windstorms common to Wind, and so on—a location somewhere near Ame makes the most sense with the poem."

Sakura was intrigued. "It seems like a leap, but I suppose it's a possible interpretation...did you ever try to go there to look?"

Itachi nodded. Naruto and Sasuke's jaws fell open. "What!? Without us?"

Itachi looked a little guilty. "Sakura and I were returning from a guard mission nearby once and took advantage of our proximity. It was purely opportunistic. The country surrounding Ame is not a huge space but it was still too big to effectively search, and we only dared take an extra day or two. We found nothing."

Naruto and Sasuke were a bit injured. "I guess you two were up to all kinds of things behind our backs," Sasuke muttered.

Before Itachi could mumble any awkward denials, Sakura deigned to rescue him. "Okay, so maybe there's something around Ame, but that doesn't explain the second haiku. What the hell does a wolf have to do with anything?"

But Naruto's eyes were bright with excitement. "The moon! Wolves howl at the moon, the Haruno symbol is the moon—maybe you have to do something under moonlight, or on a full moon—to 'open the earth's heart'—like an underground chamber— "

Sasuke caught onto Naruto's zeal. "That makes sense. The moon is a common symbol for autumn—would you have to wait until then?"

Sakura shook her head. "But the lightning mentioned in the next line—that's a symbol for summer, which is a contradiction. It might not refer to a specific season at all."

Itachi stared down at the words in thought. "We never had a good theory for the second haiku. We hoped its meaning would be become clearer after we found the vault."

Sakura privately wondered if the ominous final line didn't scare them away from trying  _too_  hard—'companions part ways'.

Well. Sakura had no companions to lose and everything to gain. Her jaw set with determination, eyes gleaming. "Let's do it."

Three heads whipped up to stare at her. "What?"

"Let's go," she said, standing and brushing the dust off her hands. "Why wait?"

Naruto held up two hands, shaking his head. "We can't. The Board is banning travel west of Konoha next week, remember?"

Sasuke scoffed. "As if we could leave without an assigned mission objective in the first place."

Sakura was appalled. "What is this, a prison? You guys can't even take vacations?"

"We are professional ninja village, Sakura, we can't just  _disappear,_ " Naruto replied in his teacher-voice. "There are protocols. We have to put in for a leave of absence, provide enough notification to find replacements for our regular duties—"

"—which I understand you're not even performing anyway due to this whole mess with me," Sakura returned coolly. "If travel is banned next week, let's just leave now. That way you're not technically breaking any  _laws_ , just protocol. Right?"

Naruto and Sasuke looked to Itachi for support, but were aghast to find him deep in thought instead of flatly objecting.

"The biggest concern isn't going against the Board," he began, nearly giving Naruto and Sasuke a collective heart attack. "It's safety. Our team can't currently function the way it usually does. Your own medical jutsu is severely handicapped, your ability to use your body's ordinary ninjutsu is inconsistent at best, and you can't use your bloodline limit at all. How would you fight?"

Sakura bit her lip. "I still have taijutsu, which I normally enhance with precise chakra control. But I can use it just fine without chakra. My medical knowledge gives me an added advantage in hand-to-hand combat, so I don't  _have_  to rely on brute strength. If I could get my hands on some tools—senbon, chakra scalpels, ingredients for poison—I could supplement my offense with those for now."

Itachi looked at her seriously. "You'd still be tremendously vulnerable compared to what you're used to, and would have to rely primarily on the rest of us to ensure your safety. Are you really comfortable with that?"

Sakura didn't need as much time to consider as one may have thought. "It's either that, or wait kami-knows-how-long while I train. And I imagine you'll all be back on active duty as soon as the village can demand it, so leaving later will be even harder. You guys are supposed to be legendary, right? Couldn't you just treat this like a three-man escort mission?"

The three shinobi glanced at each other, coming to a silent agreement. Naruto spoke up.

"You are slightly more important than any ordinary escort mission," he began, the understatement obvious. As to  _which_ Sakura the 'you' referred to, she was less sure; it was becoming impossible to separate herself from her other self. "Only because of that did we hesitate. We're not even facing enemies, so yeah, you're right, we should be more than enough for a mission like this, barring some unexpected catastrophe. If you trust us that much."

Sakura nodded, chest swelling with hope. "I do. But are  _you_  lot really okay with defying the Board?"

Determination set in each face. Sasuke spoke up. "If it comes down to which we care about more—the Board's opinion or getting our teammate back—that's not a choice at all." Naruto grunted his agreement, getting pumped.

Suddenly, devious smiles creeped onto faces all around. One even tugged at Itachi's lips.

They packed in a hurry.

\- o -

Itachi did one last check of their supplies under the cover of darkness. They'd met in a clearing just outside of Konoha's west gate, dressed in black cloaks instead of their usual uniforms. Sakura was armed to the teeth with multiple poisons, medicines, and all the medic-friendly weapons she could carry, but she was still apprehensive. She checked her pouch for her stash of extra ingredients and equipment for the third time.

Sasuke caught her looking and chuckled. "We'll protect you. Relax."

Sakura let out a strained smile, trying to keep her ego in check. "Haven't been protected since I was a genin. Can't say I'm a fan."

Itachi was all business. "Naruto, you double-checked the Code Black preparations?"

He snorted. "Triple-checked, taichou. We're good to go."

"Sasuke, we've got enough rations for two weeks?"

"Two and a half, if we're careful."

Itachi turned to Sakura. "Sakura, you're carrying—"

"—Enough poison to kill a dozen elephants? You bet."

He nodded tersely. "V formation. This is not an ANBU mission and Sakura is not used to our usual code names, so use your civilian ones. Keep pace at twenty-five miles an hour—we're not in a hurry. Any sign of danger, the cue is 'fire'. All other stops, 'ice'. Standard crisis codes. We'll go for four hours before breaking for water. Any questions?"

"No, taichou," Naruto and Sasuke chorused, Sakura piping in a beat later. This team's style was much more militaristic than she was used to.

The energy was practically crackling off Naruto and Sasuke's skin. Itachi gave them a wary glance. "Twenty-five," he reiterated. "Not a race."

"Yes, taichou." They crouched in sprinter's stance, so Sakura got down and did the same.

"Go," Itachi said. And they were off.

Sakura was delighted to discover that her body was in peak condition. Back home she'd been stuck inside the hospital for so long while barred from missions, she would have had to practice a long while before being able to keep up with this pace—even though she had a feeling they'd slowed down more than usual.

The wind in the treetops whipped through her hair in the best way. She felt power rippling through her legs and regained a measure of confidence with each step. This level of fitness was comparable to her own during the height of the war. Taijutsu would come easily. What did she even need chakra for?

Sakura grinned.

Her enthusiasm was short-lived. They had only run for an hour and a half, just beginning to clear the third band of forest surrounding Konoha when Itachi called, "Ice."

The team jerked to a halt immediately, dropping to the ground. Sakura felt her adrenaline plummet disappointingly. "What's up?" she asked, secretly impressed with herself for barely breathing hard.

"Smoke," he said, Sharingan active. "In the town ahead. Sasuke, where are we precisely?"

Sasuke cross-referenced the compass with their map. He squinted up at the stars, using his Sharingan to see beyond the tree branches. "Just over 11 degrees north latitude, roughly forty miles due west."

Itachi paused. "Could be Remu."

Naruto snorted. "Impossible. It must be an ordinary fire. It was just a random group of missing-nin doing the raids, there's no way Konoha intel could be off by a week for a group like that."

Itachi was not convinced. "Mistakes happen. We should check."

Naruto shook his head vehemently. "We're under no obligation to do so. We're not the hired protection team, and we're out here unauthorized. If we're spotted, it won't matter  _who_  our fathers are. It's one thing to accept punishment  _after_ accomplishing our objective, but to risk everything for  _nothing_ is just—"

"Insane," Sasuke finished. "Our priority is Sakura. I agree with Naruto. It's unlikely it's anything more than a town fire anyway."

"That's still an emergency. Remu is a civilian village," Itachi argued. "I believe we have an ethical responsibility. And it's possible for us to investigate without being identified. We brought masks for this exact kind of situation."

Naruto looked like he wanted to argue further, but a glance from Itachi shut him up. "However," the captain continued, turning to Sakura, "this decision affects Sakura the most. The final choice is hers."

All eyes turned toward her. Sakura knew the other two wouldn't like it, but she agreed with Itachi. As a medic-nin, she could think of nothing more irresponsible than walking away when others were in danger for purely selfish reasons. "We need to check," she said.

"It's done," Itachi declared, all traces of protest evaporating from Naruto and Sasuke's faces. He tossed masks to each—a hawk for Sasuke, a crow for himself, a wolf for Sakura. She noted with amusement that Naruto's was a fox, wondering if he, presumably with no Kyuubi inside him, even had any idea of the cosmic coincidence. At least they made it easy for her to remember who was who.

"Do not approach or engage anyone. We'll scout first. Stay together."

"Yes, taichou," all three chorused, finally as one.

"Go."

It didn't take long before they picked up on screams in the air. The ambient temperature was increasing as well, and Sakura suddenly felt stifled by her cloak. The roar of flames came into full view as they slowed just on the outskirts of town, several buildings already engulfed. Smoke belched into the air, making it even harder to see through the masks. Sakura could barely hear Itachi call "ice" over the terrified shouting in the streets.

They huddled. "Does anyone sense hostile chakra?" Itachi asked.

"I can't tell," Sasuke complained. "There are too many signatures nearby, and they're all chaotic from panic."

"Same," Naruto seconded, frustration evident in his voice.

"We'll take a calculated risk then," Itachi concluded. "Rescue who you can, children first. Stay within sight of at least one teammate. If you can't see a teammate, you can't proceed. Do not engage with shinobi under any circumstances. Be mindful of respiratory damage, it  _will_ sneak up on you regardless of the masks. Reconvene here in fifteen for a breathing check. Questions?"

Three heads shook.

"Go."

They went. Sakura aimed for a building with wide windows across the street from the one Naruto was gunning for and adjacent to Itachi's. Her eyes watered through the mask, and she had to constantly blink tears away. But it was hardly her first time diving headfirst into a fire.

She ignored the bodies on the floor, aiming for the sound of children crying upstairs. The fire had burned a huge hole through the front of the house, making for good visibility. She charged up the stairs, flames licking at her heels. She managed to snatch up a toddler and an infant under each arm before the roof collapsed. They made it into the street with only a moment to spare.

Sakura abandoned them in the street with barely a murmur of comfort. The screaming around her was overwhelming, and there was no time to coddle anyone whose life wasn't immediately threatened. She hoped she'd have time to examine them afterward, if the town was still standing.

Sakura went through another four houses in ten minutes, systematic and careful. She'd lost sight of everyone but Itachi by the time she charged into a store that had lost most of its eastern wall and was tilting dangerously. It took her a precious moment to realize the screaming was coming from elsewhere. Just as she was about to leave, a thud made her pause.

She turned slowly, knowing something was wrong. The wide back of a man greeted her. He was not running or screaming, but calmly plucking items from the back shelves and putting them in a sack. Sakura was hit with the realization that this was a weapons shop, and this man was one of the missing-nin here to steal from it. Her poisoned senbon automatically slipped from her sleeves into her palms.

Before she could yell for help, he sensed her and whirled.

Although the sweat was running down Sakura's body in thick streams, her blood froze. He wore a paper mask to protect himself from smoke, but had it pulled down under his chin for the moment. Perhaps that was why it took her a heartbeat longer to recognize him than it should have—

She had never seen Kakashi's face without his mask before.

His lips pulled back over his teeth in a smile, grey stubble creating an unfamiliar shadow on his jaw. Two identical black eyes glinted at her through the red haze.

"Shinobi, huh? How'd you guess we were coming so early?"

The unfamiliar tenor of his voice sent her reeling. It was sandpaper and scorn. Even when he reached back over his shoulder to slide a tantou from its sheath, she found herself paralyzed.

He pointed the blade toward her carelessly, securing his smoke mask on his face with the other hand. "I don't know what village you're from, but if you're not aggressive, we've got no issue. I'll see myself out."

Before he could take a step, however, a shout came from outside.

A body crashed through the roof. Itachi flipped to his feet, his own tantou already drawn. With one hand motion, a murder of crows was released into the night air, black feathers stained orange in the glow. Naruto and Sasuke were by their side in a heartbeat, singed with soot but crouched in ready stances.

Sakura looked on in amazement as Itachi tensed, about to disobey his own orders. Adrenaline heightened her senses, slowing time down just enough for her body to react on its own. Somehow, she knew what Itachi would do before he even moved.

Before the word, "Stop," had fully left her lips, she'd beaten him to Kakashi, catching the base of his blade in mid air as safely as possible with both hands. Blood ran down her wrists, but she couldn't feel it through the relief coursing through her body. Her pink hair swirled about her face from when she'd pulled her mask free mid-stride, so Kakashi would know her. So he would understand and accept her gift. So he would run.

But this wasn't her sensei.

Sakura felt nothing when a tantou slipped through her back. She stared down at herself in disbelief, clinically noting the glint of steel protruding from her ribs. She heard herself gasp when he yanked it out, flesh releasing the sword with a squelch of protest. There was no pain, or fear. But warmth cascaded down her front and back, soaking her clothes. She stumbled forward, vaguely aware of an inhuman voice roaring in her ears, but did not collapse. She turned her head to look at the man who'd killed her.

The cold indifference in his eyes burned her more fiercely than the inferno around them. Sakura could not recognize him through it.

She fell then, not quite aware of arms catching her, or of two deadly dark blurs chasing Kakashi into the night. She wasted long, precious seconds struggling to release a Yin seal that simply wasn't there. Of its own accord, one of Sakura's ruined hands ripped open her thigh pouch, feeling for the right shaped baggie. With the help of another pair of hands, she positioned it over herself and tore it open, letting the blood clotting powder run freely but ineffectually into her wound.

"Missed—my heart—" she gurgled, blood-filled lung collapsing, unseeing eyes glued to the ceiling. Her other hand was pulling healing chakra from her forehead, drop by drop, letting it merge with the blood coating her fingers so she could press it to her dying chest.

" _Don't talk,"_ someone may have murmured, helping her maintain pressure on the wound,  _"codeblackcodeblackcodeblack…"_

Sakura saw crow feathers and stars. Rotating galaxies of blinding light, spinning at inconceivable speeds across the empty void above her.

"On—purpose—" she wheezed, consciousness fading.

" _Shut up, Sakura, you're fucking dying_ — _"_

Then there was a flash of light, and everything went still.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm sorry. I do have a plan. Forgive meeeeeee~


End file.
